I can hardly contain my anger at another example of how the poor, illiterate people of this nation are abused, mistreated and robbed.

Our domestic worker, who has been with us for more than a decade, suffers from a minor spinal injury that occurred when she was in an accident. This week, after a long journey, she was in great pain. She spent the day at "the clinic" in a long queue, only to be given Panado and sent home.

How many times have we heard of Panado being the cure for every ailment, including fatal illnesses? Is this all government hospitals have to offer? No doctor to examine her, no anti-inflammatory or muscle relaxant, no physiotherapy or massage?

Hospitals are given money to provide care for people, but the money is not used to buy medication other than Panado.

Poor people have no voice to complain, and nobody seems to care. Our helper asked me not to name the clinic because she would be in trouble if she went back, although she gets the same treatment at all clinics. This woman lost a newborn grandchild at the hands of incompetent, uninterested nurses who were on strike in 2010. My blood boils. We need a miracle.