By Vir B. Lumicao
 |
All the speakers said HK people should take advantage of the city's excellent public health care system
|
Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong
should not be afraid to go for health checkups at the city’s public hospitals which
are virtually free so that any health problems they have can be treated before
these become life-threatening.
Resource persons in the weekly online show, The SUN Interviews
Live, hosted by editor Daisy Mandap, unequivocally said OFWs should take
advantage of the top quality public health system that Hong Kong offers.
The guests were former labor attaché Bernie Julve, who had a
live liver transplant at Queen Mary Hospital
in December 2003 during his term in Hong Kong; Edwina Antonio, executive director of Bethune House Migrant Women’s
Refuge, and domestic helper Lyn, a survivor of cancer of the uterus.
Mandap said the topic was timely, as Hong
Kong is in the grip of its fourth wave of coronavirus contagion,
and being health conscious is the best way to ward off infections.
She said the best way to ensure good health is to seek
medical help immediately if one experiences something unusual. For Filipino
migrant workers, they should not worry about finding out that they are sick, or
telling their employers about their need to see a doctor, because they also
need to remain healthy to be able to do their jobs well.
It is also good to know that Hong Kong
is probably one of the best places to get sick in, as one could get excellent
treatment here at hardly any cost.
 |
Julve, ex-liver transplant patient, now counts mountain climbing among his hobbies
|
Julve, who has retired from public service and is in Hong
Kong to see family and friends, said in his time OFWs strongly believed local medical
services were bad and that they’d only be used as guinea pigs (“pagpraktisan
lang) by doctors.
The workers also worried they wouldn’t be able to bear the
high cost of treatment in Hong Kong hospitals
because of their status, but he proved them wrong.
Julve related his experience as a recipient of live liver
transplant in Hong Kong.
One day, he collapsed in his office at Polo and was rushed to
the clinic of the Consulate’s doctor in Causeway Bay.
He continued to feel unwell after being revived and was given medicines. But
when his pain persisted, he was examined thoroughly and was told: “Mr Julve,
it’s not your heart; it’s your liver, it is dying.”
That evening he was moved to St Paul’s Hospital where he stayed for about
two weeks. But, after it was learned that he needed surgery, he was moved to Queen Mary
Hospital, where his
doctor said he should have a live liver transplant in 72 hours or he won’t
survive.
He said that at time, his surgery would have cost Php4
million in Manila,
but because he had HK ID, he was not charged anything for it. He said he paid
just $10 each for three month’s supply of five types of medicines. He was taken
again to the hospital three weeks later after his wound bled due to infection,
and again, hardly paid anything.
Julve commended Hong Kong’s hospital system, which he said
continued to monitor his condition even after he had moved to his new posting
in Vancouver BC. Such long distance after-care was
coordinated with Vancouver
Hospital, Julve said.
 |
Antonio has taken care of dozens of ailing migrant women at Bethune House
|
Antonio, who takes care of three cancer patients at Bethune
House, said her wards were getting good care from Hong Kong's public hospital for almost nothing, when such treatment would have cost a fortune in the Philippines.
She said there are OFWs who believe they won’t get the care
they need here in Hong Kong or they’d wait too
long, so they just decide to go home. Sometimes they also fear that local
doctors are not good and would experiment on the helpers.
“Meron ganoong mga
kababayan na instead na dito magpapagamot, sa Pilipinas ang reason nila dahil
nandoon ang pamilya nila at saka, iyon nga, baka kung ano ang mangyari sa
kanila,” she said.
(We have fellow Filipinos who choose to go home to the Philippines
instead of getting treated here because their family is there, and they worry
that something bad might happen to them here).
Antonio said it is important that the patients get support
from their employers.
“Hindi nila naiisip na
kapag may Hong Kong ID ka kasi, may access ka sa public health. Kapag
naterminate ka kasi, wala kang access sa public health. Kung ang employer naman
supportive sa pagpapaopera mo, dito na ang piliin mo,” Antonio said.
She said a cancer patient pays nothing if she undergoes surgery
here. For those who need to undergo chemotherapy, each session costs only about
$98, compared with Manila
where it is around Php40,000 on the low range.
In the Philippines,
it is the costs that kill a patient, she said.
That is why Bethune House, the refuge of distressed workers,
would ask the employers not to terminate the workers so they could avail of
free treatment and medicines, she said.
 |
Lyn during chemo: She's all praises for the treatment and care that she got from medical staff in HK
|
The third guest, cancer survivor Lyn, said she chose to be
treated in Hong Kong for her cancer of the
uterus because she did not want to trouble her family with the cost.
“Siyempre, pinili ko
rito kasi naging praktikal ako. Kasi pag doon ako, pati pamilya ko mahihirapan,
e mahirap din naman ang buhay doon. At least, pag dito libre lahat ang gamutan,”
Lyn said.
(Of course, I chose to be more practical and get treated
here. If I had it in the Philippines,
my family would also be burdened because life is difficult out there. At least
here, you don’t pay anything to get treated).
She said she received 6 cycles of chemotherapy, 33 days of
radiotherapy and three session of a third kind of therapy, all free of charge.
Her MRI, ultrasound and CTscan were free. The only thing she paid for was
registration.
Antonio said the most common health problems of patients she
is taking care of are cancer and stroke. They stay in the shelter under an
arrangement with the employers who want to keep them but want the helper to
recuperate in the shelter.
Lyn herself was lucky because her employer has retained her
services, despite the frequent consultations and treatments. When she had to
stay in the hospital for two months for treatments, her employer paid her
salary in full.
She is also all praises for the medical team at the Pamela Youde
Nethersole Eastern
Hospital who looked after
her and even cheered her up when she’d cry in frustration because nobody was by
her bedside to comfort her.
Her advice to her fellow domestic workers is not to brush
aside symptoms, as she did, when she had menstrual spotting for six months.
That was the reason, she believes, why her cancer was found at a rather
advanced stage.
She also said they should not be afraid of informing their
employers because ultimately, their being able to remain in Hong
Kong and get quality health care without spending a fortune, depends a lot on their employer’s
support.
