When the middle class
Indian falls seriously ill today, he is caught between the devil of an
exorbitant 5-star private hospital that could drain all his resources, and the
deep sea of the swarming government hospital where he needs to be fit enough to
stand for hours in long queues to reach the doctor or the scanning machine,
sometimes to be told then to come another day!
Let me start with the high-cost
hospitals first. Have you ever wondered why they feature swimming pools, spas
and shopping arcades selling Elizabeth Arden or Gussy? Do you think a “middle-class
Indian” son who comes to see his mother suffering from terminal cancer, would have a swim in the pool and shop for handbags
after visiting hours?
The message runs deep. It
is a subtle way to tell those with shallow pockets “ Stay away. This place is
not for you”. That “middle-class Indians” rush in to these mansions where
angels would fear to tread indicates either their naivety or a deep desperation
to provide the best they can for their loved ones, at just about any cost or
consequence!
The pitiable state of
government and charitable hospitals is adding much of the misery of the
“middle-class Indian” and promoting the prosperity of 5-star hospitals. If you attend a meeting of directors and
administrators of government hospitals, you will find the agenda to go
something like this: 1. Construction (pushed by contractors); 2.Equipment (pushed
by companies and agents); 3. Staff benefits and promotions (pushed by unions
and lobbies); 4. VIP facilities (pushed by local politicos), and so on……but
hardly one on Patient Convenience!
For instance, there are 2
ways of looking at a long queue of people standing impatiently in a hospital to
get their registration done to see a doctor or to pay to get a test done. A
private hospital will think of opening more booths and hire more staff to
shorten the wait, while a government administrator will send a gun-wielding
security guard to shout orders to make the frail patients make a straight line,
and see the long line as a vindication of the hospitals demand!
The charitable hospitals
have also fallen way behind in keeping up with patients’ expectations. Their
age-old motto of serving the poor, is proving contrived. Patients are beginning
to demand scientifically validated medical treatment and are no longer
satisfied with charity alone. A patient suffering from coronary artery disease
is now seeking angiography and bypass surgery, and is no longer gratified with
doses of subsidized vitamins and words of faith, doled out by an inadequately
trained specialist.
Hospitals, even if they are
“charitable”, are not charity homes. They need to be assessed by their
capability to provide good medical care in convenient, comprehensive and dependable
manner, with well-trained doctors at the helm. And getting enough of the latter
for small salaries is getting almost impossible for most of them.
Where then should the
“middle-class Indian” go?
As published in HT City ( Hindustan Times) dated 7th October, 2012.
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