A sick way to treat the sick…

Recently I had the misfortune of taking a patient to see a neurosurgeon at a centrally located private hospital. Sadly I cannot mention the name due to personal reasons. However it is considered one of the most modern and leading hospitals in Sri Lanka. The appointment was at six. Since generally this doctor see patients on time we arrived at the location at 5.30. When we went to his usual consulting room on the 03rd floor there was a sign on the door wanting us to go to the fifth floor. We realized that the 5th floor is where the Operating Theatre and the ICU are located. Apparently the doctor was seeing his patients’ in between carrying out Surgeries. Or vice versa. However the sad thing is that this floor has been designed to ensure minimal access to outsiders. It had none of the facilities for outpatients who visit the hospitals to see their doctors. Facilities like comfortable chairs; toilets or air conditioning. Over 60 of us were packed like sardines into an access passage connecting the floor to the stairway. There was only one measly fan turning slowly and hardly any ventilation. Since this was neurosurgeon most of the people who were there were seniors or small babies and some mentally unstable people on wheel chairs. It was absolutely hell for them. To add insult to injury the doctor had to carry out an urgent surgery and slipped into the surgery whilst all of us were waiting outside. We waited and waited and waited for nearly three hours along with our fellow sufferers. These nerve operations not only are they costly but they are extremely long. By the time the patient I was with had been attended too it was 9.45 in the night meaning we had been in this hospital for over 4 hours.
You know what the most amazing thing was though? No one complained. No one raised their voices in frustration. They just waited quietly… quietly suffering.