Another generic musing from my end...
Well..today's my birthday. But there are no celebrations due to the fact that my bro in law is admitted in ICU. He's being treated for drug resistant TB. Yesterday, we had gone to the hospital to meet my sister. She looked gaunt and tired. He has been going through a spate of issues such as memory loss, headaches, and body pain. There's the additional fear that he shouldn't suffer through major convulsions which can prove harmful. The family is living through this ordeal right now and praying that things get back to normal.
The musing is not about TB. It is also about the general apathy that is faced by families while at hospitals. There are no strong support systems for the family members who are undergoing the trauma as well while their near and dear ones are admitted to the hospital. You have doctors who are just professional and doing their job. It's obvious that they need to stand steady while the patient is shaky. But sometimes, you do miss that human touch. Doctors provide generic advise but nothing that will help ease the psychological impact on those who want to hear some more details related to care or symptoms that may occur after the patient get discharged. Why is that? I mean...we don't want to be doctors by knowing the nitty gritty details of chemical composition in tablets. We want to know as to why the tablet is being administered to the patient apart from the dosage details. It would help the patient's relative to administer medicines with more care and knowledge. They don't provide enough information on what needs to be done in case of symptoms that the patient may face after discharge. They don't educate the relatives on how to deal with such situations, leaving most of them worried about the future.
The staff are not trained to provide information in a way that provides solace to suffering relatives. They may not be undergoing the physical pain that the person admitted with the illness undergoes but the mental trauma is the same. The reception folks at the hospital don't provide any information on how the insurance processes works at their hospitals. whether cashless facility can be availed etc. I mean...why can't these details be provided upfront? Why do traumatized people need to ask for it? In one of the hospitals, the waiting room was on the top floor. It was a basic area with rundown sofas and rickety chairs. The table fans provided zero relief against the heat. There was a small washbasin at the corner but there were no toilet facilities on the same floor. Why do we have to put up with all these kind of facilities when we know that what they are charging us as hospital fee is large enough for constructing these basic emenities.
In some places, the waiting rooms for patients are not in a separate area. You may be sitting next to someone who may be suffering from a contagious/air borne disease. It's possible.
For ordinary middle class patients, this ordeal never ends. The cost of medicines are sky high. The various tests prescribed by visiting doctors have to be conducted in different labs. Most hospitals lack those faciities. Hence, the travel cost combined with the test costs take a toll on ordinary people.
In general, it's a never ending cycle of misery and apathy that's faced by folks at most hospitals. I wish there was relief from this kind of infrastructure.
I wish there were more people who were trained to counsel the family members. I wish we had a more humane touch where people are concerned.
If wishes were horses, I would ride:)
Until my next musing....
A hospital should also have a recovery room adjoining the cashier's office. ~Francis O'Walsh
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