24 hours
24 hours
Once considered to be of a noble service, greed, insensitivity has penetrated to the extreme in healthcare system. Even today the non-suspecting patients become prey to the policies of the clinics / hospitals as they believe and consider the doctors to be next to god, They are not questioned as their words are given respect and value.
These are the results of ineffective or no regulatory guards. Some hospitals charge for the sanitizers placed outside of the patient room, inspite of most of the stuff being used by the hospital staff, the number of consumables used during operations. the medicine strips prescribed by the hospitals even though only a small part of the medicine is consumed. the negligence and high handedness of the doctors are inviting hate from the patients and their family members, the doctors are turning out to be a hated community due to some unscrupulous elements who have penetrated into a noble service.
Making mandatory a person to be beside the bed of the patient, in case if the person has to leave, a replacement has to be made with prior consent or written permission from the immediate hospital authorities. The hospitals have policies, rules, guidelines for the patients but they absolve themselves of being bound with any policy, rules and regulation sacrificing humanity.
Here is a small story of how hospitals have supressed their conscience, unethically delayed decisions for ulterior designs sacrificing human values for monetary gains.
24 hours
Sami (Sampat Bharghav) and Sheila Bhargav (Sheila Mathaias) has recently shifted to Maharaja Society, a complex of high rise apartments with 1500 keys.
It was the month of December and the society was well decorated and looked fabulous. It was normal in Maharaja Society to decorate the apartment buildings, the lanes inside the complex, gate, office, all seems to be dazzling and showered with colourful lights. The festive mood start’s from Ganeshotsav to New Year celebrations. The resident are owners, tenant’s which includes executives, ceo’s, directors, celebrities from all over India with couple of foreigners working as consultants in MNC’s occupying few apartments. It’s a society of people from different walks of life. Every week you will find some celebrations in the multipurpose recreation centre hall, the adjoining areas too were covered with decorative lights.
Naming ceremony celebrations, anniversaries, birthdays, kitty parties even wedding celebrations as its main hall has a capacity for 500 seats plus and the terrace garden where a small gathering of 300 people could be accommodated. The hall being close to the entrance of the complex the glare of lights and the momentum of the people could be seen from far, hence the society looked lively almost every day. It was a self contained complex with recreation centre, grocery shops, departmental store, playground and a nursery school.
Sami & Sheila, and their daughter Kripa along with Sheila’s parents were happy to have shifted to Maharaja Society, since both are working professional they wanted a self-contained and secured complex. Their concern was for daughter’s initial schooling. Apart from the nursery in society there are enough schools in the surroundings. which are on a walking distance.
Kripa was happy to be with her grandfather. Dropping and picking her up from the school and visiting the stationery shop has become a routine for her grandfather .i.e. Sheila’s father. Sheila’s father is a jolly good fellow, always wearing a smile up his sleeve, cracking jokes often, within couple of months he has become acquainted to the liftman, milkman, stationery shop keeper, security guards and the immediate neighbours. While Sheila’s mother did not venture out much, but you could hear them laugh and joke together.
It was the month of April the heat was unbearable and keeping the AC on high did not suit Sheila’s mother she becomes shivery. She was on medication for her blood pressure, skin allergy and asthma. It was one of these days Yonita (society secretary) received a call from Sami.
“Hello, Yonita here”
“Yonita, I am Sami”
“Yes Sami, you seems to be worried”
“Yes Yonita, my m-in-law, is not keeping well. Is there a good hospital nearby, which you can recommend?”
“If she is serious, I would advise you to take her to MKM hospital, they have all the facilities in-house. Else, you will find many small clinics and hospitals. What happened? What’s wrong with her? How bad is her health?”
“Morning she woke up, she had been to the washroom came back and slept again, normally she wakes up on her own in an hour’s time, almost 2 hours now, she is not waking up neither responding to our call”
“I would suggest you go straight to MKM hospital, it is around 15 minutes drive on the left side of the highway towards city, it’s a huge complex you will not miss it, you better hurry”
On his way Sami had spoken to the hospital reception who connected him to a doctor. He spoke to the doctor and explained the situation. The doctor suggested to bring her to the hospital immediately. Sheila’s mother was admitted and taken to ICU straight away on recommendation of the duty doctor who examined her and said it’s an emergency we will have to put her on a ventilator, her pulse beat has gone down drastically, “meanwhile you may please get her name registered and get the necessary procedures and documentation done at the counter”.
It was 1.00 pm, Sami & Sheila had no clue what was wrong with her, they were waiting outside the ICU in anticipation to meet the doctor and get an update.
“It’s a brain hemorrhage, she is being given medication and we will observe her for another 24 hours, after that we will take a call, there is not much hope though” hinted the duty doctor
Sami and Sheila informed their relatives about the incident.
Sami had no clue on what are the charges at the hospital. Sami’s friend a local social worker suggested why not avail the health assurance scheme by the Govt. providing care to the family per year through empanelled hospitals in India. Sami applied for the scheme and his friend helped him get the approvals for the same and submitted at the hospital billing counter.
24 hours gone there was no sign of any improvement and she was not responding to the medicine. Sami & Sheila along with the doctor entered the ICU and they observed that her face had swollen and there was slight bleeding. Observing the situation and being curious Sami questioned the doctor “if she is not responding and will be in the same state, and if she is alive only due to the life support / ventilator, why not remove the ventilator? it does not make any sense on holding the patient under observation for more time , I feel we have already lost her?”.
“No we cannot do that” the duty doctor and the senior doctors maintained their stand in-spite of Sami and his family requesting the doctor. After much deliberation and reasoning the doctors agreed. Since there were such cases and the hospitals had agreed to remove the life support / ventilator after obtaining an undertaking from the immediate relatives / kin of the patient.
“Well, if you insist, give us an undertaking in writing, and we will do the needful” explained the doctor.
In-spite of giving the undertaking, the doctor and hospital authorities refused to take any step in removing the ventilator or discharging the patient and they did not budge from their stand.
Being a Christian Sheila had already contacted the church authorities briefing them of the situation and to know what are the formalities to be done. They requested for certain documents from the hospital as well gave the contacts of the church representatives in case of any help required. Sheila coordinated with them.
The patient wasn’t given a discharge on the 2nd or even on 3rd day. Ultimately the patient was given a discharge on the fourth day afternoon.
Sami and Sheila were stationed at the hospital for entire 4 days by either of them remaining at the hospital. On 4th day around 2.00 pm Sami received a call from the hospital authorities informing them to complete the procedures as she was declared dead, since the life support / ventilator was removed an hour before. Exactly at 1.00 pm the hospital authorities took a decision to declare her dead. As per the assurance amount sanctioned, it covered the billing of the hospital till the fourth day.
The body was sent to the morgue and released after due documentation process was done. The body was shifted to their residence as relatives had gathered there. As per the church timings the burial was to be done by 4.00 pm. As per guidance from the church she was cremated on the same day.
Was it concern and hope of the doctors “an allegiance to their profession” to not lose hope till the last breathe, or the corrupt practices followed by the hospital authorities it is anybody’s guess.
