India is known to be a developing nation that has its chances of becoming a Superpower in the near future.It is known to provide the world with the best quality of engineers,computer experts,scientists and of course, doctors.But, unfortunately for us,most of these proffessionals choose to work overseas than to devote (also read as “waste”)their energy in their own country.The explanation- Poor compensation for their efforts and the chance to be able to afford a better lifestyle if they earn their livelihood abroad.
India has suffered a huge hindrance in the area of medical aid being made available to the common man.In most other nations,the Governments have a nearly perfect setup to ensure that medical aid is within easy reach.The Governments support their people in whatever way practically achievable. In India, though medical aid is much cheaper in comparison to other countries in the world, the quality of the same is quite debatable.These days it is not uncommon to hear that a patient who got operated a few weeks ago complains of a stomach ache, only to discover that the surgeon left a towel inside his abdomen.
A few days ago, a friend’s father was admitted to a local private hospital in Pune,which according to his doctor,was a low-priced and very good hospital for treatment. A 10ftx10ft room with two patients is the setup of the hospital.It houses about 10 such rooms with two patients each. The hospital is an example of innovative architecture from the outside(cerulean aluminium coating with reflective glass sheets) but completely contradictary in the interior.
The ten rooms have only one wardboy to look after the twenty patients in them.The small overhang at the end of the long corridor is a dumping ground for used syringes,saline bottles ,waste from the dustbins in the rooms. The walls are the canvas for the huge abstract painting, with ‘paan’ and ‘gutkha’ used as paint. An old lady with hardly any flesh on her bones tries feebly to wriggle out of the wheelchair,where she has been abandoned by the wardboy (who seems now,to be attending to some other patient) since half an hour.
I then entered Room No.106,where my friend’s dad was recuperating.I was shocked to see that the once white bedsheets on both the beds were almost yellowish-brown in colour.The Emergency bell seemed to adorn the wall more like a wall hanging than the purpose it was meant for.The attached toilet was locked because it was blocked. The old man lay there,immobile yet clearly irritated,for he had summoned the wardboy to get him the equipment that he would need to pass his stools,however,it seemed like the wardboy had prioritised his lunch over the old man’s urgency to attend nature’s call.
After closely observing the utterly “perfect” attitude of the hospital,we decided to move him to another hospital close by.But right then,one thought came to my mind..”Why don’t all these people admitted here change to that hospital which provided much better amenities…?” The answer was simple- The people could not afford that hospital. The solution- Be happy about getting atleast a little medical aid and take your chances with a hospital that is irresponsible enough to not give a receipt upon payment of the lab test bills.
Is this the idea that we have for a country that is soon to be a superpower….? Or is it that we have so aggressively charted our way towards it that we have neglected and forgotten about other much serious problems of the people in the country…? The answer here is quite controversial and I therefore prefer to steer away from it.
Cant there or isnt there a regulating body of the Government that makes weekly or even monthly checks on these private hospitals and the kind of hygiene and facilities standards that they maintain…?
Does not being able to afford a slightly expensive hospital entitle you to take chances with your life in a hellhole of infection and subzero hygiene…?
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4 comments:
when u mentioned that the medical facilities outside of india are better i shall agree with u but i will dispute the fact about the cost. if u have looked into the statistics then u will plaese care to see that quite a few foreigners come down to india to have themselves operated n worked upon by our brilliant resident doctors. as for the cost of medical facilities abroad, it is a grave misconception. in reality unless u actually have medical insurance i guarantee that u will indeed be ripped apart by the bills that they produce at surprising regularity which is quite beyond the reach of a middle class man, very unlike our system in india. the concept of a general practitioner or more commonly known as the doctors clinics as we have here is also not ifact available outside. So i suggest u count ur blessings before u harp on about what our nation does not provide you with and just think that apart from the acute poverty and overpopulation it does do its relative best to provide you with the much needed services.
Ajinx, a very good point about the concept of development in the minds of the people. We are indeed living in an illusion. No one is to blame but everyone. The ignorant, coz they run away from reality, and the enlightened coz they dont care about the darkness or dont have enuf light to reflect reality. Anyways the point is very simple, you just have to be philosophical to impact the hesitant readers.
Common observation will teach us, we are disordered by our social loafing. This is the phenomenon explained in social psychology, when people will try to escape from
responsibility in the presence of other people. Development, as expected by the ignorants, is something automatic in which they have no part to play. This attitude when held by masses, which is not very rare if we observe carefully, will hinder any progress that is expected. The incidence of ignorance in medicine and food industries especially more dangerous coz it is our basic need as a community.
Beautiful thing is we dont need to educate every1 to not loaf socially. Ugly thing is population offers no respite. So wat we can try doing is do our jobs perfectly. All of us. Just do out jobs to the best we can. And truly enuf as you sow, so shall you reap.
who else can know better then u ...you'v walked in quite few times with a broken bone .. good one dude!!
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