This is a hospital.
Where men sit waiting, not on the benches but on each other's feet.
This is a hospital.
Where the sick don't find a place to sit, as all the seats are broken or taken.
This is a hospital.
Where doctors are two hours late, and that's considered "OK."
This is a hospital.
Where patients with the slightest display of "Do you know who I am?" are given first preference.
This is a hospital.
Where children lay scattered on the floor, sleeping or weeping, while their mothers console them with empty promises.
This is a hospital.
Where people sidestep the children and move on, without looking down at the pain of the innocents.
This is a hospital.
Where a tired and hungry child cries for milk.
This is a hospital.
Where the famished mouth presses gratefully and suckles happily on it's mother's life-giving teat.
This is a hospital.
Where a young man wearing a suit and tie chances glances at the supple breast of the young mother, leering at the sight.
This is a hospital.
Where the suit-and-tie man cares nothing about the patients or sickness, but on imaginary sales figures that promises to convert into money, but always wants just a little bit more.
This is a hospital.
Where Medical Representatives don't need to take appointments or talk to anyone, but patients are thrown out forcibly right through the door.
This is a hospital.
Where words like 'ethics' and 'morals' and 'duties' are nothing more than words plastered on placards, or painted on white walls turning grey, fading slowly to nothingness over time.
This is a hospital.
Which has been left at the hands of competent doctors and incompetent administrators, as nobody wants to do the societal clean up.
This is a hospital.
Which has seen so many sharp minds get lured away by that financial temptress.
This is not just a hospital.
It is a chilling representation of what our world has become.
Where selfish people look outside their comfortable sedans, tut-tut twice at the deplorable conditions, then roll up their windows and get lost in that momentary glitter that they have mistaken to be real life.
This is real life.
How easy it is to turn a blind eye. Perhaps because we feel powerless, though no excuse, is it?....no excuse not to see!
ReplyDeleteHey... that was quite a perfect picture potrayed in ur imperfect prose... a sad kind of feeling creeps into me whenever i come across such explanations for 'hospitals'.... i work at one of them and a govt one but thankfully i am at one of those rare govt hospitals which still retains its ethics n morals... n wish everyone related to medical services would realize their responsibility n then hospitals definitely would be better place.
ReplyDeleteit is sad, heartbreaking, that that IS life for some :(
ReplyDeleteThank you for writing this. My parents are medical missionaries in the Dominican Republic and the conditions are much the same. Heartbreaking. Where do we even start with changing this?
ReplyDelete@ Enigma... The last time that I had gone to a place like that, I was probably too young to notice all of this. Yesterday, however, it hit me hard like a slap in the face. I wonder what it would take to fix up the current situation...
ReplyDelete@ -t-... Unfortunately, that has become the case for not just the hospitals, but a lot of other areas as well.
@ David... I've been wondering about the same question for some time now...
@ Enigma... The last time that I had gone to a place like that, I was probably too young to notice all of this. Yesterday, however, it hit me hard like a slap in the face. I wonder what it would take to fix up the current situation...
ReplyDelete@ -t-... Unfortunately, that has become the case for not just the hospitals, but a lot of other areas as well.
@ David... I've been wondering about the same question for some time now...
it is heartbreaking and challenging to realize that the healthcare i take for granted is unknown or inaccessible for much of the world. like the other posters above me, how can we change this? what can i do? currently there isn't much, but i can start by stopping taking what i have for granted.
ReplyDeleteoh wow. arnab, your writing is so poignant. and so needed. keep sharing, okay? we need to hear from you. thank you so much for linking.
ReplyDeleteouch. and yes. I see this even in my own workplace, and I work for a non-profit charity. I've come to accept it, to some extent expect it (of course I get the good treatment). But only because fighting it only seems to make it worse so I cower from facing it. Ouch.
ReplyDeletewow. all too real my friend...and bleak...though it happens far too often...
ReplyDelete@ alittebitograce... There's a lot more than just healthcare that needs a revamp here. Taking things for granted - stopping that is a start in itself. I've been wondering how to make some sort of a change, however small that is... Truth be told, the whole experience was a bit sickening, but somehow I wouldn't want to turn my back to this now.
ReplyDelete@ emily... I'll keep sharing. Right now, this seems to be my only little bit that I could contribute, although I do hope that in future I can do a little more than just this...
@ Kati... Fighting it might be tough, but someone at some point of time must do it. You said it right, when you said Ouch.
@ Brian... What would it take for it to not happen all that often...?
@ alittebitograce... There's a lot more than just healthcare that needs a revamp here. Taking things for granted - stopping that is a start in itself. I've been wondering how to make some sort of a change, however small that is... Truth be told, the whole experience was a bit sickening, but somehow I wouldn't want to turn my back to this now.
ReplyDelete@ emily... I'll keep sharing. Right now, this seems to be my only little bit that I could contribute, although I do hope that in future I can do a little more than just this...
@ Kati... Fighting it might be tough, but someone at some point of time must do it. You said it right, when you said Ouch.
@ Brian... What would it take for it to not happen all that often...?
I am humbled. Thank you, Arnab. So clearly written and such a vivid picture. Overwhelming. I think I need to pray, I just don't know how else to respond in this moment, except to say this, I agree with Emily, please keep writing, I want to hear from you.
ReplyDelete@ Joybird... I hope someone hears those prayers. A lot of people need it. Thank you.
ReplyDeletePowerful poem. It is similar in the inner cities in the U.S. The emergency rooms are overcrowded with poor patients who need more care than can be provided. Very sad.
ReplyDeleteThe important question here is, what can be done in a situation like
ReplyDeletethis. I know how helpless you feel in the face of such sadness, but
something needs to be done... fast.
The important question here is, what can be done in a situation like
ReplyDeletethis. I know how helpless you feel in the face of such sadness, but
something needs to be done... fast.