MARCH 25 — I would love to be able to have warm, fuzzy feelings about the volunteerism going around but the current situation brings into focus how little recourse is available for lower-income groups.
Truth be told, my daily life has changed little as I primarily work from home and socialise mainly on the internet.
It is not the case for many who are now left without income and face financial hardships now and down the road.
Just a couple of weeks ago I had a full medical check-up to make sure I didn't have any underlying conditions and was given a (mostly) clean bill of health.
Well, besides having apparently chronic anemia that a round of blood testing has not (as yet) revealed a cause.
I was lucky that I had put money aside to do the human equivalent of a car servicing; but what of the people who need urgent care that is unrelated to the epidemic?
From the current signs, the Covid-19 virus is taking up resources but the reality is there are people out there who will be sick from other ailments.
Public healthcare is the most affordable option but is also at the moment a risky proposition.
The crowds, the long wait times, and the risk of infection is much higher than going private but it isn't an option for everyone.
Paying RM300 to see a haematologist was painful on my wallet but all I needed was to set an appointment the day before and spent little time waiting.
The semi-private hospital I visited was also fairly quiet and with no crowds, it was far less likely that I would catch any bugs and there was even a Starbucks vending machine.
Decades ago when I visited HKL for a referral for a psychiatrist I waited hours to see a GP, then could only get an appointment in two weeks.
Granted, I paid only RM1 for registration and next to nothing for the bags of anti-depressants that kept me sane for almost a year.
Right now it is even harder for the poor to access adequate medical care; our system is underfunded and our doctors are overworked.
New doctors now also need to face the reality there are no jobs waiting for them and those under contract know their contracts are unlikely to be renewed in a few years.
Despite all that we are managing better than some Western countries; the shambles of the UK and US approach to Covid-19 has put a magnifying glass to how their healthcare systems are failing the most vulnerable.
It is not enough to have recourse for the ill; we need to prevent them from getting sick in the first place and the lower-income group need resources — access to better nutrition and preventative healthcare.
Perhaps Covid-19 will be a reminder that the nation suffers as a whole when the underprivileged do; that we cannot build our policies around subservience to the rich and powerful.
The world is broken and maybe, once the tides turn, and normalcy returns more people will see that income inequality endangers us all.
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
