Le Hubby's "Staycation" at Mt Elizabeth Novena

Last weekend Le hubby had a fever and he tried to sleep it off.. however on Monday, his fever still did not go away and it's already the 3rd day! Moreover he kept having very bad hiccups until he couldn't sleep and was feeling nauseous the entire night.. so I insisted in bringing him to the hospital for a check-up and to keep him under observation for a day.

He checked-in just in time for lunch so they brought him porridge and a big jug of ice because they are trying to bring down his temperature. His fever only subsided on Tuesday night! They had to kept feeding him ice water and putting ice packs on him to try to bring his temperature down. It's was hovering around 39 to 40 degrees celcius!

Since he is covered by his insurance company, we went to Mt Elizabeth Novena. There were no queues at the A&E clinic and we managed to settle the paperwork get him warded within the hour. 

After going through the A&E process at Changi General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital & KK Hospital.. I swore never to go back to a government hospital ever again. Even if I am in an accident and need to be sent to the hospital and the nearest one is a government hospital, I will insist they drive a bit faster & further to the nearest private hospital... provided I am still lucid and can talk. If not, I will insist in a transfer as soon as my condition is stable. 

The service is really heaven vs hell! Not to mention the waiting times.. I waited 4hours to see a doctor for my stomach flu at Tan Tock Seng and they asked me to lie down on a bed and I was pushed to this huge observation ward where there are dozens of other patients (like a war camp!) and they put on drip for 3hours before sending me home with only 1 day MC. I was vomiting like crazy and they treated me as a wannabe case and just pushed me aside like they had better things to do. Though my intestines are not falling out of me nor do I have a big knife wound.. at least show some compassion and concern right! Nooooooo.... you just gotta wait like an idiot for a young trainee doctor to see you and put you on drip then go and pay money and go home. 

Mt Elizabeth Novena has super efficient staff, posh & upscale furnishings, brand new equipment. All the rooms are single bedded so you can have peace & quiet!

I stayed in a B2 ward in Changi Hospital before and I had to put up with inconsiderate noisy visitors, coughing fits, long wait time for the toilet.. Urgh. Le hubby & I accompanied Nathaniel there to the A&E department at 3am in the morning when he had a high fever and though there were not many patients around, we still had to wait for 2.5hours! For what!??!

At Tan Tock Seng they only limit each patient to have 4 visitors each time and there's strict visiting hours. It is also super crowded and noisy there!

Mt Elizabeth Novena has no limit on visitors or visiting hours.. and even so the crowd is so much lesser & quieter than TTSH or CGH!

Looks like a 5 star hotel lobby right?

The thing I hate most about hospitals is the smell. There's this "hospital smell" of sickness mixed with antiseptic, despair and medicine. The moment you step into a hospital you will feel different because there's the smell. 

That's why I love Mt Elizabeth Novena so much because there's no hospital smell! In fact, there's this wonderful smell that smells so good! From the basement carpark to the lobby to the lifts... everywhere has this very relaxing & wonderful smell similar to Katong Mall or Paragon!

I love the toilet & the rain shower! 〜(^∇^〜）

So.. it's really important that you have good health insurance coverage so you can stay at the better hospital when you need to. You can have a relaxing and peaceful stay and don't need to worry about the hospital bills. The food is really good too! ^_^

I have quite a comprehensive insurance plan which costs me a few thousand dollars each year but it's worth the money because I don't have to worry about hospital bills. If I have any major illness next time, I am also covered. My hospital bills last year were almost $30000 and I didn't pay a single cent from my pocket! 100% covered by my insurance. So I guess it's "worth it" and the next few years will be considered free because I gained so much from my plan already.

Luckily Le hubby also has good insurance coverage. In fact, he actually receives money (hospital income) from his insurance company if he stays in the hospital! $100 a day! Why my insurance plan don't have hospital income one! I stayed for almost 2 weeks last year leh!!! Not fair! *pouts*

Anyway, 1 day became 5 days and he was only discharged on Friday morning.

 

I stayed in the hospital with him every night. I drove home on the 1st night to pack my clothes and drove back to the hospital. I slept at the sofa in his ward and the nurses brought me pillows and blankets. The first two days I took MC and stayed at the hospital with him the entire day cos I was sick too. I had a very bad cough and flu since last week and since he is hospitalized I decided to take 2 days off to rest. On Wednesday and Thursday I went to work from Novena MRT and went back to the hospital after work.

 Complimentary mini bar! (“⌒∇⌒”)

All the items in the fridge are free but any refills is chargeable. The annoying part was, I wasn't told that the items were free! It's not stated on the card as well! During my previous stays we did not touch the mini bar at all cos the items are not cheap! We didn't know the price is already included in the ward charges! Stupid check-in staff conveniently forget to tell me. All 3 of them for the 3 separate stays! Even the staff that served me on Monday also did not tell me until I asked! I think this is a conspiracy by the hospital to save money and charge more.. So remember to double check your entitlement!

I also had to ask for the complimentary parking coupon! Parking is free for 3 days if you stay in Ward 12. I did not know about the free parking or the mini bar until I surfed their website and saw that they are included in the ward charges.

 Happy boy with his spaghetti dinner (๑>◡<๑)

So glad that he is discharged! I think I worry more for him than he worries for me when I fall sick.. I don't like the feeling of helplessness when I see him sick. I guess it's just my duty as a wife.. and usually women tend to worry more and fuss over their husbands than the other way around. I will want to stay in the hospital and meet all his doctors to find out what's wrong with him and be near him so I can help him or make him more comfortable by doing things for him and want to stay overnight at the hospital with him so in case there's any emergency at night I am just beside him. Though it's not a major illness or accident, I still worry a lot for him.

God please bless Brendan and keep him healthy! Amen!