The new IJN has an issue when it comes to design which is the process of creating something that meets a specific purpose or goal. Design can be applied to many fields, such as art, engineering, architecture, software, etc. Design involves planning, researching, sketching, prototyping, testing, and evaluating the outcome. Image source: Google
The Dreadful Call
This week was quite eventful…
I was at my workplace, looking forward to a great day at work when I got a call from my wife. She normally wouldn’t call me in the morning, so I picked up the call without any hesitation. My dad had complained about breathing problems and was transferred to the IJN’s emergency centre. My dad had a heart bypass surgery almost 3 years ago and has been doing well since then. His diet was strict and my dad made sure he did not strain himself. So, when I heard he was being rushed to the emergency ward in an ambulance, I feared for the worst.
I rushed to the emergency ward and saw my mom. My dad was still under observation but after an x-ray and eliminating heart attack, my dad was discharged (but it took us almost an hour after that to get his medications). There was an infection in his lungs that was causing the breathing problem. It was a slow walk back to the car park (it is not easy for me to drive back to the lobby entrance and my dad did not want to wait for long)
About IJN
IJN stands for Institut Jantung Negara, which is the National Heart Institute of Malaysia. It is a state-owned enterprise that provides specialized services in cardiology and cardiothoracic surgery for both adults and children. It was founded in 1984 as part of the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital but moved to its current location in Jalan Tun Razak in 1992. It is the national referral centre for cardiovascular diseases and has treated over four million patients since its establishment. It has also collaborated with international medical institutions to introduce modern clinical techniques and conduct research and development activities.
IJN Parking Bad & Confusing
IJN is undergoing renovation – I missed the usual entrance and instead took another road towards the parking lot. The parking lot was full but I saw another sign pointing to a parking lot at the back of IJN. Parking at the new block was a breeze and cheap too (no parking ticket!).
The old block and the new block housing the parking lots were connected by a simple bridge. I wonder how people who designed new blocks and new features for hospitals left out small but critical shortcomings in their design. It is apparent that it was designed and built without any thought to the users who will be using them – the patients’’
To reach this bridge, one needs to climb up a couple of stairs. Easy for an active person but for a heart patient who is having breathing difficulties, it is like climbing Mount Everest. It took almost 10 minutes for my dad to climb 6 steps up and another 10 minutes to climb down. In the end, he was almost out of breath and tired. Thankfully the pick-up place was not so bad – it had some chairs for him to sit down and catch his breath.
By the way, it was not easy to pick him up either – he was on the G floor and my car in the 4th floor. By the time I came down to the 1st floor, I realised that the exit to the G floor had been blocked. I had to do an illegal U-turn and cut in to the G floor, pick up my dad, drive to the 2nd floor and drive down to the 1st floor to properly exit the parking lot.
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My Trip to IJN – Insitut Jantung Negara