LETTERS: Uncle Pak Chee, 73, rode his bicycle to a vaccination centre (PPV) in Ipoh and received his Covid-19 jab. There was no prior registration on the MySejahtera app.
He also had no prior appointment. Just his curiosity and courage to ask questions. Kudos to the PPV personnel for the compassion and thinking outside the box to make it easy for a high-risk individual to be protected.
This was in stark contrast to the experience at a specialist hospital, which denied vaccination for my mother when the hospital extended an offer in the first place.
My 86-year-old mother has Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia that affects mainly older adults. She is in the advanced stage of the disease and, naturally, along with comorbidities, is highly susceptible to Covid-19 infection.
When infected and hospitalised, dementia patients are prone to becoming delirious in unfamiliar settings, thus complicating the management of their health and overall wellbeing.
Hence, it was disheartening that the hospital failed to vaccinate my mother when she went there on May 27 as per the confirmation with only a day's notice.
Apparently, this was because the appointment details were not found on MySejahtera. So why call and give my mother an appointment?
Soon after, the hospital called again and offered to vaccinate my mother and me the following day even without our details stated on MySejahtera, the very reason they gave for not honouring their initial offer, which appeared on MySejahtera a day after the appointed date.
No explanation was given. Nor did I receive any response to my email to the hospital director.
Such disrespect for an older adult, who has been a patient of the hospital since 2014. She was put at risk and endured hardship to travel to the hospital. She needed a week to recover from the exhaustion of the trip and the trauma of seeing people in face masks.
I would like to share the wise advice of Datuk Dr Christopher Lee, our own world renowned infectious disease specialist, who told junior doctors at Sungai Buloh Hospital to "treat patients like you would like others to treat your parents".
To be sure, I neither feel entitled nor am I trying to be difficult. People living with dementia and those who are affected by it are already living a difficult life.
But, in Malaysia, the Covid-19 vaccination processes and inconsistencies in implementing them have made the incredibly difficult even harder. So, please, stop making what should be a simple process difficult.
My mother's condition is bound to deteriorate because dementia is progressive and terminal. Therefore, the sooner she and her peers get vaccinated, the greater their chances of some resemblance to pre-Covid normalcy and the better their chances of a quality life.
Here are some suggestions to the health authorities to make it easier for people with dementia to get vaccinated:
PRIORITISE vaccination for all people with dementia irrespective of age and other risk factors for Covid-19, as well as their primary care partners who are the frontliners for their loved ones.
ENSURE advance appointment notice to allow care partners to make logistical and other preparations.
ASSIGN morning appointments with flexible hours to avoid sundowning symptoms, where the individual experiences enhanced confusion, anxiety, aggression and difficulty in understanding/following directions. These are common in the early evening.
URGENTLY engage organisations such as Persatuan Mobiliti Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur that offer van services during the Movement Control Order to those with mobility issues to get to the PPVs.
ESTABLISH a calm space at every PPV. Use it as the waiting lounge and vaccination station for people with dementia. Crowd, noise and cramped space are triggers for challenging situations.
ALLOW care partners to accompany the person with dementia throughout the vaccination process as they need the support, especially in an unfamiliar environment and/or activity; and,
INCLUDE "dementia" and "mobility challenged" in the registration form to allow identification and execution of these suggestions.
SHARIFAH TAHIR
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times