The Health Clinic at Tanah Putih is unable to cope with the number of patients that it has to attend to. Therefore all patients have to wait in the tent before they can enter the clinic.

Last Thursday on 14 July 2022, I went to the Tanah Putih Health Clinic with my autistic son Jonathan for a blood test. The doctor's appointment will be on 21 July 2022, a week later. When the doctor first mentioned the blood test, I had already informed him that Jonathan will not be cooperative and that he will need to be restrained in order to draw blood from him. I also mentioned that previous attempts to draw blood from Jonathan have not been successful. The doctor duly made a note on the blood test request form.

The appointment for the blood test was 8 am and I arrived about 15 minutes earlier accompanied by my maid. I also brought snacks to distract Jonathan. The Tanah Putih Health Clinic is quite small and the number of patients that seek treatment is way beyond its capacity. There is a big tent with plastic chairs that have been erected outside the clinic. Therefore patients have to wait here for their turn before even being allowed to enter the clinic. We waited at the tent for about an hour before entering the clinic. Once inside the clinic, it took about another hour for registration and more waiting before Jonathan was called.

I must also point out that the clinic is overcrowded and it is operating way beyond its capacity. I am so thankful that Jonathan was able to wait for two hours.

Anyway, when Jonathan's turn was called, I explained my situation to the nurse. The nurse told me that in another room, Room 14. But this room is also crowded with people with wheelchairs and those resting in beds. The back story is that Jonathan has been vaccinated against Covid 19 three times. During these times, he has to be restrained by at least 3 people before the injection can be given. Therefore Jonathan can sense something and refused to enter the room. I tried to bribe with snacks, cajole him, and even spoke in a stern voice, but Jonathan will not budge. This commotion has attracted a lot of stares from people in the clinic.

After exhausting all possibilities, I entered room 14 and informed the nurse that Jonathan will cooperate and requested that she made a note so that I can show it to the doctor. The nurse said that she was unable to do that and that I need to inform the doctor myself. So I brought Jonathan to see the doctor but he was busy attending to his patients.

In the meantime, I managed to coax Jonathan to enter room 14. I asked the nurse whether I could hold Jonathan while he is standing so that the nurse can take the blood. The nurse said this could not be done as she has to think of her own safety. I understand and I managed to get him to sit on the chair. However, each time the nurse approached, Jonathan would struggle and get off the chair. The nurse then suggested getting Jonathan to try to lay on the bed and she can use the restrain on him. However much I coaxed him, Jonathan refused to lay down on the bed.

I think that I had spent at least half an hour in the room. All this while, there were also patients in the room. The commotion with Jonathan has also affected the other nurses and a doctor's ability to attend to other patients. In meantime, Jonathan is getting more scared and agitated. I felt that I had my best and there is no point to prolong this ordeal any longer. As such, I made a second request to the nurse to just made a note to say Jonathan was uncooperative and blood could not be taken. Again she replied that she is just a nurse and she can't write the note, only a doctor has that authority. Since there was a doctor in the room, the nurse requested the doctor to write. Right in front of me, an argument ensued between the nurse and the doctor.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. All this while I have been keeping my cool and my request for the note is not unreasonable. I lost my temper and shouted at both the nurse and doctor. Upon seeing that, the doctor hurriedly prepared the note and I stormed off the room.

It is very sad to see that the health clinic is very unequipped in terms of facilities and trained manpower to take care of people with disability. But the Association and I have to do a lot of work to advocate for better facilities for people with autism.

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