Only those who have been there and those who are there would understand what being in a Government hospital of West Bengal mean. I don't include other states because I haven't been there and I am not so sure if things work the same way there though I am pretty sure that's the fact. So upon my own keen observations, I would present the following realities of our Govt. teaching institutions:
THE DOWNSIDE :
1. HEAVY PATIENT LOAD : We may not like it. We may not want it. We may disagree. But that's the fact. We have hundreds more patients than we can cater to. Our wards don't have space enough to accommodate patients. Their condition is worse than Kolkata buses ! They sleep on floors, some don't even get that luxury.
2. COMPROMISED PATIENT SAFETY AND PRIVACY : Occasionally you would notice a male patient with his pants down undergoing a par-rectal examination with the minimum of privacy benefits ! The scenario for females isn't much better, though not worse. Breast-feeding privacy is a myth. However, considering the heavy patient load, I don't blame it so much on the authorities, yet we could be spending a few thousand rupees arranging for better curtains or separate examination rooms in OPDs. And would it not be better if our interns cared enough to sterilize the tonometer before using it on every other patient. But it is not the case everywhere and the occasional meeting with a caring person is so heartening. I wish everyone would be so caring as some others.
3. CARING TALK : This is the worst part of it all. Forget the doctors, even the receptionist or sweeper in a government hospital thinks of himself as the highest profile employee. Patients and their families who are already so much depressed are put through profound trouble. With a huge campus and over-whelming patient load, you can't explain everything to every patient but you can talk gently. It would only be healing. But then, this is the condition in most Government Institutions in our country. Isn't it?
