Two-n-Half Hours @ Super Specialty Hospital

This is my first hand experience at one of the most reputed and famous Super Specialty Chain of Hospitals in Hyderabad. The story began when I called their OP for an appointment.

Upon approaching the OP for an appointment, they refused stating that, the clients or patients are met on first-come-first-serve basis.  I checked when the consultation starts, the person on the other side said at 6.30 pm sharp.

Like a most punctual client, I reach their OP at 6.15 pm, so that I could meet the Doctor, as soon as he walks in, as I feel nauseated with the smells in the hospital.  The executive on the OP desk is seriously multi-talking.  He is taking phone calls, talking to the walking in clients, passing the appointment records that are being created, talking to existing patients, the nurses and also having fun with the other counter executives.  However, the executive lacked focus and prioritization. He was making one client wait for 10 minutes, for a job of 1 or 2 minutes.  I patiently waited for 20 minutes and I lost my cool watching is behavior and gave him a piece of my mind; I am sure that did not have any influence or impact on him. At least I was relieved as I let my emotions out.

Well that welcome experience was only the trailer; picture was yet to be unveiled 🙂

To wait for my turn, I took the seat right opposite the consulting Doctor’s room.  The doctor happily comes 45 minutes late and still, there was not a single word of apology.  He plainly walks into the room, asks an attendant for the list of clients.

He instructs her to call the 1st patient Veronica.  Attendant called out for Veronica.  She was slightly far away and could not hear her name being called, in the meantime one shameless guy sneaked through and the attendant assumed that he was Veronica.  Veronica was a Senior Citizen and patiently waiting outside the room, as she was not able to bear the AC. While the guy was still sitting inside, two of the colleagues from hospital walk-in to his room, later the guy comes back to go in for some tests and buy some medicines. The unscheduled guests sit there for 30-40 minutes.

God knows what important and path-breaking discussions took place in that time and which could not have waited till the consultation was over. In the meantime the shameless guy comes back and enters into an argument with a senior citizen accompanying Veronica that he would like to go in next, as he needs to get the treatment done.  Just when the unscheduled guests come out, there comes a DCP who just barged in without an appointment or any waiting time.  Then there are people who barge in for giving wedding invitation cards and some other employees for getting free prescriptions for their problems, etc., as they are the privileged lot for working in the same hospital.

When all this drama was happening, I also saw a very old couple waiting for hours, a little farther away from me (they waited as long as I waited). What I understood at the end was, the old lady got discharged from the hospital and their son was clearing the bill, which took so long. The lady could barely sit, I could sense the discomfort, while I was sitting half furlong away.

It may sound like a comedy show for people reading this, or also to imagine that so many freaky coincidences could happen in a span of Two-n-Half hours.  But, believe me all this happened and my blood boiled were frowning inside and thought my BP would have shot up. (In fact, when my turn came, I requested the Dermatologist to check my Blood Pressure ;-|).  If I were the administrator of that hospital, I would have certainly put all of them, including the Doctor through some disciplinary action, but the fact is I was not…

I strongly felt that all the people in the Hospitals should go through a vigorous training on “Human Care” in addition to the “Medical Care”, so that, they develop a sense of understanding, empathy and human touch, to deal with people who are already stressed with their medical condition.

These hospital resources should understand and empathize with the fact that, the people who visit the hospitals come with a hope to get medical solutions to their problems and not to get further stressed with the way they are treated and go back with a feeling of disgust.