Clinic's identity mix-up in Covid-19 case leaves 70-year-old in tears

SINGAPORE - When Madam Tan Poh Choo, 70, received a message on Oct 2 informing her that she had tested positive for Covid-19, she was shocked.

She had no symptoms, no pain and had not visited My Family Clinic - which sent the message - since June.

Speaking to Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News, the housewife said she spent one week in fear after a slip-up by the clinic, which had mistakenly mixed her up with another patient with the same name who had a positive PCR test result.

While the clinic's staff from its St George's Road branch called her on Oct 4 to inform her of the mistake, she only received official confirmation that she was not a Covid-19 case on Oct 9.

This meant that for a week, Madam Tan did not dare to leave the two-room Housing Board flat she shared with her husband as she did not receive any authorisation to do so.

And when she received a call on Oct 5 asking her to pack her belongings to move to a facility for isolation, she was so scared she burst into tears.

She told Shin Min: "When I received the call, my mind was blank. I didn't want to leave my family but I was more worried of being alone by myself in an isolation facility."

In response to queries from The Straits Times, My Family Clinic said: "It was a regrettable error on our part due to the mix-up of identical names and heavy patient load during this period of time.

"When the error was detected, our clinic staff reached out to (the Ministry of Health's) Case Management Task Group immediately to rectify the records."

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It added: "Our clinic staff visited Madam Tan on three different days at her residence as a form of support and (to render) assistance in managing inquiries."

My Family Clinic said: "We treat this matter seriously and have since strengthened our processes."

Madam Tan told Shin Min that she had feared the potential stigma attached to being seen by her neighbours if she had to be escorted away by healthcare workers to a community isolation facility.

She said: "Actually, even if someone gets the virus, we shouldn't view them in a different light because nobody wants to fall sick."

Still, it was a relief when her TraceTogether test status was finally cleared on Oct 11 - nine days after she was first notified.