Dr. Cindy Hia Clinic for Children and Paediatric Cardiology

Very slow in response and long waiting time despite with appointment. First time specialist clinic not able to assist in insurance claim form (give execuse not under panel).. not under panel then need to fill form but they reluctant to do so... One memo (Medicial leave or doc memo to call for certain procedures can take days...and need to constantly chase them for it). Paying specialist price so not worth it.

I came to see her from overseas. After my 21weeks anatomy scan my OB wanted me to get seen by a specialist for possible hear defect. I came in early, explained my situation and waited until the time i was supposed to be seen. I explained that i came from overseas and have a flight to catch. She didn't try to see me on time because there were other patients to see. So on top of all the worries and anxiety about the baby's heart she just failed to see me. I had to leave the clinic to catch my flight back. Worst doctor's experience who had absolutely no sympathy for her patients.

My 3.5yo daughter has been with Dr Cindy since birth. She has a congenital heart disease. Dr Cindy has been so, so patient, kind, generous and gentle with us. Whether it was bad news or good news, she would patiently talk us through it to give us as much information as possible to make informed decisions. Due to her expertise and all the advice she has given us, our daughter who almost required surgery when she was just a few months old is now no longer even on her medication. She's a healthy and happy child, and we really have Dr Cindy to thank for that. She takes time even out of her official work time to respond to us, and doesn't ask us to see her unnecessarily. We can't recommend Dr Cindy enough, especially for a more medically complex child.

A detailed scan at week 20 of my pregnancy revealed a mild issue with my baby's pulmonary valve. I proceeded to consult Cindy Hia 2 days later in hopes of getting a specialist's opinion. The scan took over 40mins, though throughout this time, nothing was shown or explained to us. Then, the verbal diagnosis she delivered started with what my husband and my occupation are, as the cost of treatment would be high. Then she moved on to a clear folder with drawn images of the heart condition, and concluded that with this condition, the life expectancy is 40-60 at best and multiple open heart surgeries are inevitable. She continues to talk about the possibility of genetic disorder, and told us to do an amniocentesis if we are looking to continue this pregnancy. We trusted her expertise and diagnosis, and left her room utterly distraught. All the while, we did not see any imagery of the heart scan nor receive any written report from her. As we took the next few days to decide on termination of our pregnancy, albeit with the thought of seeking a second opinion running through our heads, our gynae called us and referred us to another specialist. We proceeded to do so, in order to make a sound and resolute decision. To our surprise, the new specialist told us it was a mild issue and his diagnosis concurred with the detailed scan results. We then went on to see 2 other specialists before we drew any conclusion. At the same time, we requested for Cindy Hia's report to be sent to us few days after the visit to her clinic. The first response we got was that the report was going to take a week to be done. My experience with all other specialists was that they would refer to imagery scanned on the spot and explain to me the heart condition, along with report issued on the same day at the end of the visit - totally contrary to Cindy's. After i questioned why the report would need so long, I received it in the next couple of hours. In the written report, the content was significantly different from what was verbally told to us. Accuracy of the diagnosis aside, the entire scan to delivery of the results appears to be vastly different from other specialists' practice. In fact, i have revisited her clinic to confront her on this issue, yet i believe you have a right to know about my experience. If you are in doubt, please seek a second opinion. We almost lost our child wrongfully because of the diagnosis that was told to us by her that day.

Having been through a few paediatric doctors, I trust Dr Hia the most with both my children's health and well-being. We have been with her for almost three years. She is extremely thorough with her examination, explains in detail and gives handwritten prescription so that we don't miss anything out. When it came to areas that might fall outside of her specialty, she would consult the other specialists top in their fields to get their opinions and advise on the best way forward. I'm most grateful to have her as our family's paediatrician.