Thursday, July 26, 2007

Where is our culture going...?


*** I have removed the content of this post temporarily - Just enjoy the other posts :-) ***

~ Paul

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Some moments at hospital...

Today I was accompanying my friend to one of the famous hospitals in Bangalore since he was not feeling well... After some zigzags travel in the bike, we reached the hospital... When we were slowly moving in the bike to find a parking place, we were stopped by the security guard's voice, "park the bike this side..." When I was about to park the bike, I noticed the board reading "bike parking - Rs.2 and Car parking - Rs. 4"... Upon seeing that, I somewhat surprised, "how can they charge for parking inside the hospital to those who are coming to see the doctor in that hospital... when I come to this hospital, they are supposed to provide space free of cost for parking... isn't it"... I wondered inside about how people are trying to make money by all the possible ways...

When my friend and I entered the outpatient ward, I was slowly looking around the place as my friend was talking to the receptionist to get doctor's appointment. The notice, which was pasted near the reception, caught my eyes and it read, "Hospital tariff has been revised from May 2007"... 'What TARIFF???' There are lots of better ways of writing it like 'hospital fees...' or 'hospital charges...' etc... I felt like the word 'tariff' is something to be used with pure business like hotel, tourism, etc... Now days, the doctor-patient relationship has gone... only doctor-customer relationship is there... I believe you can differentiate the words patient and customer... Doctors started treating patients like money making machines and try to extract money as much as possible before he leaves the hospital... (Of course, I am not talking about all the doctors here, genuine doctors are exceptions)...


After my friend paid the consultation fee, we were asked to wait near room 18 to meet the doctor... we found two chairs to sit and started waiting for the doctor and the time was 9.30 AM. I could smell the medicine in each and every particle of the air... Lot of dull faces around... showing their illness in their tired eyes... The time went on but we didn't see any sign of doctor whom we were supposed to meet... Other doctors treating dental, allergic, etc were there and the patients were coming and going but our doctor didn't turn up until 11.30... We were literally waiting for more than 2 hours... When money starts flowing, people start losing their punctuality and sincerity... I feel that doctor profession is something divine since they are dealing with the lives of people... People who are suffering by illness is waiting for the doctor and he is coming late just like that...


After he came, no process or anything followed to send the patients in... The guys who well know the attenders and nurses were going first and there is no first come first serve basis or nothing... At last, my friend met the doctor and got the prescription... Then we were routed to another place for putting injection... I was surprised, 'then... what is the doctor doing... cannot he put the injection... or even the nurse whoever assisting him inside, cannot she put the injection... then what else she does... again routing to some other place just for injection...'


When we were waiting outside for injection to be put, I saw a guy coming for the same... he was alone, dull, and he was totally tired... By seeing his face and eyes, I could say that he was not steady and definitely the fever would have been very high... I could feel how much he was suffering inside by seeing him... But no one was accompanying him... perhaps; he might be a software engineer or so from some other place working in Bangalore like us... Working in some hi-fi companies... earning a lot... capable of living luxurious life... But when not feeling well, no one to take care... you got to suffer by your own, since the family would be more than 100 miles away... you got to get up and make some coffee by your own even your fever is high... even your head is spinning in giddy... even your body is paining like anything because of illness... I sometimes wonder why this kind of life are we living... but most of the times my inner heart would answer, "to make your family, loved-ones and those who depends on you happy and to give them a good life..." In fact, that is true with most of the people who are working like us whom we meet/see in our day to day life...


When we were about to leave, we saw two attenders taking an old lady who was laying on the rolling bed followed by his son or someone... she was almost unconscious... they were hurrying her into the hospital rooms... my friend and I were seeing each other's face and my friend said humorously, "they will send her out only after extracting whatever she earned in these years of living..." and we started from there...