While it’s commonly understood that visitors must adhere to the dress code at government hospitals/buildings, there are times where one is unable to follow it strictly due to emergencies.
A woman recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to call out a guard who allegedly prevented her from entering a hospital in Johor as she was wearing shorts despite the doctors wanting to see her immediately.
Woman denied entry over shorts
In the post shared by Carol Yong, she wrote that a guard stopped her from entering Hospital Sultanah Aminah’s Block D on the basis of wearing a pair of shorts that was a little above the knees.
Guard yelled and said ‘Ini hospital kerajaan tau!’ I said ‘Look, this is urgent docs are looking for me.’ But nope, no entry until the nurses gave me a pair of patient pants.
Carol also alleged that the guard yelled racial expletives at her, where he commented that those of a certain race were “pigs”.
“I absolutely despise that I have to take this public — it reveals my location and I don’t like that. How much longer are we gonna fight over ‘attire’ at hospitals? Tak letih ke? And the racism? Acceptable? When are we gonna resolve this?” she lamented.
Carol added that the same guard kept bothering her and shooed her out after her medical appointment, leading her to wonder whether she was at a hospital or prison.
The hospital and the guard apologised
An hour ago, Carol shared an update about the issue, stating that HSA Corp Comms has been in touch. She met with the supervisor and the authorities. Carol also thanked the hospital and the guard for their prompt action.
The guard acknowledged what he had done/said and apologised.
Mixed opinions
In the comment section, netizens were divided over Carol’s situation, with some slamming the guard and others questioning her choice of attire.
At the time of writing, Health Minister Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad, who was tagged in the post, has yet to release an official statement over the incident.
Read the post here.
Hey @DrDzul @KKMPutrajaya @HRHJohorII I’m wondering why guards at Hospital Sultanah Aminah Blok D refused me entry on the basis of me wearing shorts (skimming the knee) despite me making it clear the docs were requesting my immediate presence? I thought we settled this? (1/n) pic.twitter.com/ydfwuMBUiE
— Carol Yong (@carolyong) March 20, 2024
Read more stories of people experiencing attire policing here:
