Professional help needed

On Aug. 3 I took my two-year old daughter to AEA International on Jl. Purisakti for treatment of her high fever, and then she was under the care of an Indian pediatrician.

Being afraid of strangers (as a child normally is) she was crying with her mouth wide open. She was lying on her back so that we could see clearly that her throat was reddish. To check the throat the doctor might have placed his stick too deep into her mouth and that caused my daughter to vomit and continue crying.

There was no way for the doctor to persuade the child to stop crying and he instead shouted at her: "Finish, finish, we don't do anything." I kept silent, but I had the feeling that I was not favorably welcomed or attended to. This could be because of the fact that I am an Indonesian, not a foreigner or expatriate, who mostly attend the clinic. However, on previous visits with my expatriate husband we were quite nicely treated.

I tried to ask the doctor if he could give my daughter an injection to lower her temperature. He said: "No, I will do it next time. Now she must be forced to take this medicine, and if her temperature is still high, bring her back here."

How can a doctor give such treatment to somebody who badly needed professional help. After all, I paid the same high price as other patients did for the treatment. I still strongly believe though that only administering an injection could have lowered my daughter's temperature.

MARTHA BOOTHBY

Jakarta