Wow, gone are the days when you can just go to a hospital and get a check up on the same day. Well actually I could but I won't get a specialist doctor. I rarely go to hospitals or clinics. When I did so in the past, I'd be lucky if the doctor I needed are available on the same day. I don't want to reexperience going to a hospital/clinic only to find out the specialist is unavailable. That's a waste of time, effort and money. This is why I called the medical centers first before even attempting to go to any of them.
I have a skin allergy/rashes that still have not disappeared even after almost two weeks of being around. Sometimes more pop up on my arms too! It is annoying and bothersome especially when I need to focus on my work training. Sadly it seems my immune system is not as strong as when I was regularly drinking my trusty all natural superfoods juice mix. Tsk tsk. (I should buy more soon.)
Today I tried to find out where there's an available dermatologist in certain medical facilities near me. I called five of them, from most affordable or public to private ones.
Bear in mind I am only here in the city (NCR) now because it's my rest day until tomorrow afternoon. I have to be back in Batangas by Friday night or early Saturday morning. Would rather go back in the afternoon so I would be ready to work again on Saturday. I only have time to get a check up today until tomorrow but I can't leave before 8 am because I asked someone to come by and clean the house. I could leave her and come back in the morning once she's here but not before.
Anyway here's the list of the ones in Quezon City (in Metro Manila/NCR, Philippines) that I called. Find out what happened below:
1. East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC)
I started calling their landline number around lunch time. Unfortunately nobody answered several of my calls. Wow everybody in the hospital are on lunch break? Around past 1 pm was the only time somebody answered the phones, both Out Patient Department (OPD) and operator assistance. Would have tried to contact their social media account/s if only they had one.
When I finally talked to someone in OPD they said only 10 people are accepted for the dermatologist available today. They suggested I just come by tomorrow and be as early as 6 am to get a slot. Wow. OPD is open from 8 am to 2 pm and people need to get in line early, or else. Haha. Sad to not be rich eh?
As for operator assistance, I asked the guy who answered if nobody really answers the phone during lunch break. The guy couldn't even answer me immediately. Eventually he did say yes, no one answers calls during lunch break. That's sad. He at least managed to give me the phone number of the dermatology department. Called it and the lady who answered told me I had two options: OPD and Skin Clinic.
Well I already knew about the former so I asked about the latter. She said I would have to get an appointment a day in advance. Sad life. I asked if there would be anyone available tomorrow morning but the short answer was most people get an appointment in the afternoon. We talked some more and it seemed a bit complicated just to get a sure appointment so I just thanked her and ended the call.
Status to get a dermatologist appointment: FAIL
2. World Citi Medical Center
This one also does not have anyone to answer calls during lunch break. I think during this day and age hospitals should have someone to answer trunk line and operator lines from 12 noon to 1 pm. It seems like bad service if no one can answer calls. Everyone has lunch breaks and if someone needs to call hospitals at that moment nobody would be available to talk to? How sad. Take note, this is a private hospital, unlike EAMC.
I even sent them a message via their Facebook page. Guess what, they only responded few minutes past 1 pm. Ah such is life in the metropolitan area of the Philippines. 😅 Is it the same in your area too?
Anyway so since nobody was answering my calls I checked their social media posts and saw a webinar on allergies. Wow I thought it was perfect timing! Saw there was a link to the featured doctor's Facebook page so I clicked it. I found out the doctor is an allergologist (oh new word of the day!) so I contacted her secretary.
I never knew there's such a doctor now until today. Allergists/allergologists are specialists in treating allergies, etc. Good thing it was almost 1 pm so the secretary answered her mobile phone. Unfortunately the doctor is only available for appointment on Saturdays. Oh well, so much for trying.
As for the hospital's reply to my private message, they gave me a list of the dermatologists who work there. Unfortunately one is not available today and tomorrow while another one is only available through online consultation.
Status to get an appointment with a dermatologist/allergologist: FAIL
3. Patient First Medical Center
I only tried calling the two above around lunch time but since no one was answering I figured I would just call others after lunch. This one is a clinic near where I live so I called them past 1 pm too.
Found out they didn't have any available dermatologist today. Also everything would be by appointment via telemedicine. Face to face appointments with the skin doctor are only available on Mondays. Sad pandemic life huh?
I even called again to check if they have an infectious disease doctor (specializes in infections from bacteria, virus, etc.). As expected they didn't have one since it's not a hospital. Oh well.
Status to get a dermatologist/infectious disease doctor appointment: FAIL
4. St. Luke's Medical Center
Okay, now this is a top caliber and world-class hospital that I wouldn't go to unless I'm desperate and have the money. Even so there's no harm in asking right? I still called them to check and inquire so I could decide if I should go or not.
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Found out there was an available dermatologist until 3 pm but the consultation fee is P1,200 (around $24). Omg I don't have the budget for it. What did I expect eh? Gone are the days when consulting with a doctor only costs around P500 ($10) or less. 😅 I think last year or in 2019 the fee was already around P700-P800. Oh boy it's really expensive to be sick. Tsk tsk this is why people are turning to alternative/herbal medicine and other all natural remedies.
For sure they have an allergologist and infectious disease doctors but I didn't ask anymore. The consultation fee alone stops me from ever going there until I have enough money. 😅
Status to get any doctor's appointment: FAIL
5. Dr. Jesus C. Delgado Memorial Hospital (JDMH)
As a last resort I thought of checking on this hospital. It's not a big medical center but I always pass by this one whenever I travel to and from Manila & Quezon City. I've never been inside so I just thought of trying this too.
Called their hotline and found out they do have dermatologists but none are available today. The lady on the other line gave me the number of the doctor's secretary and the schedule too. The skin specialist would only be available from 10 am to 12 nn, MWF. I felt kinda sad because no one was available on Thursdays.
I checked their website and saw the various specialties the hospital has. That's how I learned about infectious disease specialists. 😮 Wow I learned about two other kinds of doctor in one day! Haha. I love it.
I'm more comfortable with female doctors so I ruled out the male infectious disease physician listed on their website. Apparently there was a skin doctor today but the schedule was only until 1 pm. No wonder the person on the phone didn't tell me about it. Too bad I slept late and woke up late too huh? 😅
Status to get a doctor's appointment: Unsure
🔸 What Now?
Well of course I am not giving up on getting this skin allergy to completely disappear. Hopefully it will be gone in a few more days. Stay tuned for tomorrow's article. I will share what happened after I called those hospitals/clinics. Haha.
Can you guess what I did today that helped reduce the allergic reaction?
XOXO,
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Lead image from Pixabay.
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Hope you get so soon. Relate much in this scenario too hard and difficult to find a medical attention this time due to the pandemic we're facing at present. Let us all pray that this will end.