Waterlilies

Contiuing my experiences with the 'excellent' medical services available in Mumbai.

I travel 2.5 hours one way to this premium hospital, wait for my doctor for over 1 hour.

I meet my doctor who, as I had predicted, would suggest that I get admitted for my next round of treatment.

I have figured my room and reserved it already expecting this to happen, and proceed to register myself. I reach the admission counter and submit my form. The unfriendly assistant behind the counter makes a phone call and barks back at me " The room is not empty yet as the previous patient has not been discharged. Come back in 1 hour". Hearing this, I am thrown off balance as I'd confirmed ten minutes back with the nurse on the floor about the vacancy of the room. I'd been informed that it would take 2o minutes to prepare the room and that I could proceed to initiate the admission procedures. By the time I complete that, my room would be cleaned and ready. After objecting to the instructions by this assistant, I attempt to explain to him the conversation that had transpired. Failed attempts at this, I try to request him to reconfirm that the previous patient has already left and only the room has to be cleaned.

He insists that I am wasting my time, making me realize that it was near lunch time and he was keen on honoring the lunch hour committment! It did not matter to him that this patient is needing a bed to lie down and further medical procedures are necessary! As I continue to object to his insistance, I am met with further rude behaviour and indifference.
"Whatever your problem is, please get the Chief Medical Officer' to instruct us to begin your admission procedure as the room is not ready.

My objection is less to this irrational request to return after 1 hour, but, the reason behind this.

Every department has a TAT that needs to be maintained between admission of the patient to the patient being in the room allotted to him. They need to ensure that as soon as the room is ready, the papers get processed and medical attention is "immediately" been given to the patient! If you are following the sequence of events, the TAT is measured on what the systems show and the sytems will only reflect the patient once the entry is made by this department.

If the room is not ready and papers are made, then the TAT is breached for so many patients as are waiting for the room to get prepared. If my department's effeciency was measured on TAT, then, agreeably, is this not what I would resort to also?

I move to the CMO's office to further excellate this matter only to find out he's out for lunch. No wonder there was so much confidence in the assistant's orders! He had successfully shooed me away from creating a nuance at his counter! I discuss the same matter with the lady in charge there and by the time she calls the respective floor to confirm status of the room, we are home! The room is suddenly ready!

Well, this was only the beginning of the whole story per say. When I see the room, well, the lesser said the better. White walls, blue furniture and a leaking AC duct, old tiles and utitilies in the bathroom, smelly cupboards, and worst of all stained sheets are what greet me.

Is the more expensive room that I paid for? Appartently so.

I spent the night in a moist cold damp room because I had not used the AC and the marble was "sweating" moisture. This moisture was giving a foul smell and damp air in the room all day and worse in the night. I left the window ajar for some fresh air. Apparently, this kept me awake all night because the wind was howling through this gap. Did I have a choice? Not much really because I needed to breath some fresh air into all this moisture!

I spent the night awake counting the hours to morning.

Another day, another story. Just to conclude, I ran home the same evening almost as soon as my treatment was complete.