In January 2013 we moved to Clementi, which took us away from a lot of places we used to go (and still go), including Providence Medical Centre.

And at some point or other, I was really suffering from a blocked ear. I identified a clinic in Clementi and went there for help, since it was nearby. I’ll skip the description of how my ear got unblocked, but suffice it to say I was relieved.

I was home in Clementi and needed medication for a sore throat and for an ear I was worried was on its way to being blocked again. I figured I’d go back to that place I went before.

Problem: I didn’t know what it was called.

Also: I got distracted by my email and missed their morning/afternoon hours. I’d have to wait until evening, and be sure not to miss that window of opportunity: the next day was a public holiday. Fewer clinics are open, they might be busy, and there’s might be a surcharge. And I wanted meds sooner rather than later.

I did a search for clinics in the area and identified three, one of which sounded vaguely more familiar. Aquinas tried calling them to see if they had me on record, but they all claimed not to. So I figured I’d walk over.

Luck was with me: the first one I found was the one I’d visited before, Union Clinic and Surgery, which had somehow left me with the impression of being green. They did have me on file after all. I handed over my new insurance card for them to update my file and entered the queue as #12 around 7:30. The doctor was going to come in at 8:00. I said I’d go away and come back around 8:30, which was when the receptionist estimated the doctor would have gotten to #12.

In retrospect, that seemed like a strange estimate.

I went away, had an acceptable but overpriced meal at Pastamania, and returned around 8:00. I saw that the waiting room was rather full, so I walked around and found the other two clinics (West Coast Clinic and Surgery and Tan Clinic and Surgery). They looked less busy. I went back to Union and claimed a chair and sat down to read. I was called forward around 9:00, which is when their evening hours are supposed to be over. The doctor addressed my concerns kindly, but, it must be said, concisely. I wasn’t the last one in the queue.

It occurred to me to wonder what happens if he (it was really a one-man clinic) can’t process the queue by the end of the day. My guess is that he just has a slightly longer day, rather than that they turn people away who are already in the queue.

Doctors’ offices in Singapore are run like businesses and patients act like customers (I get the sense that most don’t have company-sponsored health insurance—it’s all self-pay with cash). The situation allows a certain amount of added flexibility (after all, this was a walk-in visit for me) and seems to leave everyone in a cooperative mood during all the necessary transactions.

I left with my meds. I then passed by the West Coast Community Centre, which I figured would be closed, with the idea of trying to get a PAssioncard membership. They were still open at 9:15! And a friendly, bustling lady got me a card on the spot.

A gratifyingly successful mission!