PRACHIN BURI: A public hospital has been lashed by social media after labels on two bottles of medication issued to a young boy were found to include the comment "Mother of child patient scolded hospital staff" instead of just the prescription details.
Chalisa Ketpan, 24, posted photos of the medicine bottles issued to her by Prachantakham Hospital in Prachantakham district on her Facebook page. She added the message: “Give me details and a clear explanation, please. I have no intention to vilify anyone, but I question what this type of record is for. Who can tell me about this?’’
Her posting on Tuesday drew heavy criticism of the hospital from netizens, who agreed the comment on the label was inappropriate.
On Wednesday, Prachantakham Hospital director Pongsathorn Sroikhiri sent the woman a letter apologising for the incident.
“Hospital staff acted innocently in including on the labels the message 'Mother of child patient scolded hospital staff', which was intended to remind them to improve the service next time. The staff had no hidden intention, he said in the letter.
The hospital accepted responsibility for the incident and promised to improve its service, he said.
In an interview with Bangkok Post online, Dr Pongsathorn said he would call a meeting of hospital staff to ensure there was no recurrence of the unfortunate incident. The hospital would improve its service, he repeated.
Ms Chalisa said the incident happened 3-4 months ago when she took her young son to see a doctor at the hospital around midnight. She noticed hospital staff seemed unwilling to provide any service. Her son was ill and she wanted him under a doctor's care.
When she asked nurses about her son’s condition, they seemed upset by her request and she scolded them, Ms Chalisa said. When she was later called to collect her son's medication from the dispensary she was stunned to read the comment included on the labels. She was angered by the message and later decided to post it on her Facebook page.
