A security guard at Gleneagle's hospital, Singapore, suffered a heart attack and was placed in the hospital's intensive care unit (ICU). The brother of the guard approached the GIVE. Asia page to raise funds for his treatment, but soon informed that the hospital was going to cover the medical fees.
"We've just received good news from Gleneagles Hospital CEO, Lee Suen Ming, that they will be covering the medical bills for my brother Thomas, and we need not raise funds for his medical fees anymore," said Daniel Lukose, the brother of Thomas Lukose, who had the heart attack.
Phua Tien Beng, the acting chief executive officer for the Singapore operations division of Parkway Pantai, which operates Gleneagles Hospital, had reviewed the case, and finally concluded that it was the right thing to do, paying for Lukose's outstanding medical bills.
The family was touched by the donors on the GIVE.Asia page, who seemed more than forthcoming to help the family out, and on hearing that the bill was covered, they were ready to donate their money to "the next person in need."
"Thomas received timely and expert care from our doctors and staff when he suffered a heart attack at the hospital," said Phua. "We are very glad that he has made an excellent recovery and is now recuperating at home."
Thomas Lukose was on night duty at the hospital on September 13 when he suffered the heart attack. Daniel Lukose and his family members realised that it would be too expensive for them to cover the cost of the hospital bills, so they attempted to transfer him to the Singapore General Hospital. However, since his condition was too critical, they decided to go ahead with the treatment.
"We have been trying to get him transferred to SGH where the cost will be lower however the efforts have not been successful as there isn't an ICU slot available and it will be risky to keep waiting any longer. Therefore we have no choice but to go ahead with operation at Gleneagles." wrote his brother on the GIVE.Asia campaign page.
Lukose underwent open-heart surgery on September 16. Dr. Sriram Shankar, who led the operation, did not charge for the surgery, but the hospital bills were still unaffordable. It was after this that the hospital stepped in, putting the family at ease. The security guard is now recovering.
GIVE.asia is a website which helps patients with hospital bills and enables children to study in rural areas. They also help event organisers raise fund for causes and provide support for humanitarian efforts to countries in need.
