1	Trying, help, homeless, Part, III, Singapore, asia, news,

 

This is a continuation of Part I and Part II

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30^th January. Saturday. Evening. Tiong Bahru FSC

After being injured, Mike became frustrated. Angry at life and happenstance.

I wanted to get him to the FSC to plot out the next course of action. We took a taxi to the FSC due to his injury. Mike insisted for me to call his sister.

“Tell her that I am suffering”

He insisted with force, so I was not left with much choice, except to repeat his ridiculous demand.

“Mike wants you to know that he is suffering”

The sister went silent before asking me who I am. Once I had the opportunity to get out of the taxi, I walked away from Mike and immediately asked her if she could house Mike till the 4^th, and explained to her that Mike has an IMH appointment on that day, and as long as he goes to the program, he can recover. She said that her husband will call me later. The call never came.

And at the FSC, the social worker we met yesterday was not around, so another one was assigned to us. She assessed the situation and said that it was good to get him to SGH. If he can be hospitalized there, it will also solve the problem of short term housing till the 4^th. She told us to look for the social worker in the hospital.

She gave us 20 dollars for our transport fare, and so we took a taxi to SGH.

30^th January. Saturday. Evening. Singapore General Hospital

We entered the A&E. At the triage station, my friend saw the confidential remarks in the computer file of Mike – “Whines frequently when doctors and nurses come near”. I told the nurse that I met Mike and he said that he was suicidal. I requested the aid of the social worker in the hospital. She told us to wait. We never saw the social worker.

At the doctor, the doctor grilled Mike in the same manner that the pastor did. In a tone that betrays disbelief and skepticism. Later, the doctor told us that Mike was a regular and hence the treatment.

As the doctor was reviewing Mike’s medical history, Mike said that he has hepatitis C. I thanked God that I threw away the razor blade which I lent Mike.

Since Mike said that he was suicidal, arrangements were made to transport Mike to IMH A&E using an ambulance. The doctor told us to wait while the arrangements were made and Mike gets a preliminary examination. We left him our contacts and asked him to call when the ambulance was ready. We had not eaten lunch and dinner so we went to eat.

After returning from our meal, a nurse saw us and told us that Mike has already left for IMH in the ambulance. We asked for the doctor and the doctor said that he will call IMH and try to get IMH to call us to update us on whether Mike is successfully admitted in or not.

Thinking that our job is done, that Mike will be admitted into IMH for treatment for both being suicidal and alcoholic, we left for church exhausted. It was 7pm.

30^th January. Saturday. Night. Church.

As we travelled to the church, the doctor called me. I didn’t really get what he was saying, but he told me to call IMH around half an hour later and I heard him say the phrase “Patient Confidentiality”.  Later, I will understand that he meant that IMH cannot update me on the status of his admission due to patient confidentiality.

At 7.30, I called IMH during the church service. IMH told me that I had to go to IMH myself since they cannot divulge anything over the phone due to patient confidentiality.

We headed off to IMH.

30^th January. Saturday. Night. IMH.

We took the MRT from Redhill to Hougang. After getting off at Hougang, I realized that it was wise to call up IMH to get them to prevent Mike from leaving in case he was discharged.

“If [Mike’s real name] is discharged from A&E, can you prevent him from leaving?”

“He left long ago”

“At what time?”

“7.30”

“How can you let him out? He is on a wheelchair, he cannot move. He is homeless, he has nowhere to go.”

“He walked out. He was not on a wheelchair. He was given an appointment by the doctor.”

Ashen and in disbelief, I reeled once more. I did not believe how someone admitted for being suicidal and judged not suicidal enough can be allowed to walk out of IMH just like that. Or how Mike was not given accommodation of any sorts and released back onto the streets with nowhere to go. Especially considering the fact that IMH was right next to Pelangi Village where the vagrant houses were.

We rushed to IMH, and wanted to speak to the doctor. But the doctor was busy, and we decided that there was no time to waste. It was still possible to look for Mike in the vicinity; we reasoned that since his leg was still injured, he could not have gotten far. We checked with the security guards who said that they don’t recall seeing someone of Mike’s description walk out of IMH. So we wandered about IMH a bit, hanging on to the hopes of a miracle. When that failed, we went to look around some neighboring void decks.

Sensing the futility of the task, we went to make a missing person report at Hougang Police station. And we stopped the search.

The Days After

Currently, Mike is still missing, missing to me. I called up the CNB officer whom Mike is supposed to report to every Tuesday. She said that Mike did not report, but he has to miss three urine tests before he is charged.

Mike did not show up at the FSC on the 4^th, the day of his IMH appointment either. He promised me that he will. He given up on himself.

He never called me either, though he has a scrap of paper with my handphone number scrawled on it.

Efforts to reach Mike and return his NRIC have failed. I have no idea how to locate him, and no energy to. I told Johnny to tell me should he see Mike. And I returned Mike’s NRIC to the social workers at Tanjong Pagar FSC.

The social worker told me that should Mike decide once again to help himself he will return. And that I need not worry for Mike, for he is skilled in living on the streets, and the emotional strength of someone who been in and out of prison for over thirty years is far beyond our own. Maybe his claim that he was suicidal when he first met me was a ruse. Maybe the psychiatrist at IMH was right in judging that Mike was not suicidal enough.

She said that it is not in our time to decide when Mike wants to help himself again. But Mike’s time.

Until then, Mike is out there somewhere drinking himself to his death. A fate he gotten into after failing himself, and failed by the system.

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I will be blogging about what I percieve as the wrongs of the system once I am allowed to book-out from National Service. Please check back until then.