The saga continues...

Friday, April 3, 2009

Good grief! What else can they do to further distinguish themselves with notoriety? The pediatrics clinic with bad service that I was ranting about earlier just scored themselves a further black mark in my book.

On Tuesday evening, the usual pediatrician that my children see was closed so I had no choice but to bring Big Buddy to him. Big Buddy was in tears and complaining of pain at his ear/jaw area as he ate his dinner. Fearing a possible episode of mumps as I could feel a swell, Hubby and I decided to bring him to seek medical attention.

The conclusion was that it could be a possible lymph node infection or a case of early mumps. So, on the safe side, Augmentin was prescribed as Big Buddy had two previous lymph node infections that resulted in incisions to drain abscesses that formed. When the nurse advised on the medicine dosage, something struck me but what it was did not register till we came home.

Last night, I decided to do an online check on Augmentin and its recommended dosage for children as I had a hunch that something not right. I discovered that the amount prescribed Big Buddy (2.5ml) was way below the recommended range for children his age. I then dug up past records that I kept and confirmed that the dosage that he last took in 2008 was 7.5ml. This represents a huge disparity of 5ml so I called the clinic to seek clarifications.

It was then that the attending nurse confirmed that the dosage advised us is in error and it should be 7.5 and not 2.5ml! Apparently the nurse attending to us that night made a mistake when typing the medicine labels. Although thankfully, the swell and pain had subsided, given Big Buddy’s history with lymph node infections, this is something that could have led to actions more drastic than oral medication being needed.

I am shocked at the grave mistake made by the clinic. Granted that the doctor called me within short notice to apologise, I sure hope my feedback will result in his staff exhibiting better care and attention in this area.

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