In Search of the “Middle Class Hospital”

When the middle class Indian falls seriously ill today, he is caught between the devil of an exorbitant 5-star private hospital that could drain all his resources, and the deep sea of the swarming government hospital where he needs to be fit enough to stand for hours in long queues to reach the doctor or the scanning machine, sometimes to be told then to come another day!

Let me start with the high-cost hospitals first. Have you ever wondered why they feature swimming pools, spas and shopping arcades selling Elizabeth Arden or Gussy? Do you think a “middle-class Indian” son who comes to see his mother suffering from terminal cancer, would   have a swim in the pool and shop for handbags after visiting hours?

The message runs deep. It is a subtle way to tell those with shallow pockets “ Stay away. This place is not for you”. That “middle-class Indians” rush in to these mansions where angels would fear to tread indicates either their naivety or a deep desperation to provide the best they can for their loved ones, at just about any cost or consequence!

The pitiable state of government and charitable hospitals is adding much of the misery of the “middle-class Indian” and promoting the prosperity of 5-star hospitals.  If you attend a meeting of directors and administrators of government hospitals, you will find the agenda to go something like this: 1. Construction (pushed by contractors); 2.Equipment (pushed by companies and agents); 3. Staff benefits and promotions (pushed by unions and lobbies); 4. VIP facilities (pushed by local politicos), and so on……but hardly one on Patient Convenience!

For instance, there are 2 ways of looking at a long queue of people standing impatiently in a hospital to get their registration done to see a doctor or to pay to get a test done. A private hospital will think of opening more booths and hire more staff to shorten the wait, while a government administrator will send a gun-wielding security guard to shout orders to make the frail patients make a straight line, and see the long line as a vindication of the hospitals demand!

The charitable hospitals have also fallen way behind in keeping up with patients’ expectations. Their age-old motto of serving the poor, is proving contrived. Patients are beginning to demand scientifically validated medical treatment and are no longer satisfied with charity alone. A patient suffering from coronary artery disease is now seeking angiography and bypass surgery, and is no longer gratified with doses of subsidized vitamins and words of faith, doled out by an inadequately trained specialist.

Hospitals, even if they are “charitable”, are not charity homes. They need to be assessed by their capability to provide good medical care in convenient, comprehensive and dependable manner, with well-trained doctors at the helm. And getting enough of the latter for small salaries is getting almost impossible for most of them.

Where then should the “middle-class Indian” go?

As published in HT City ( Hindustan Times) dated 7th October, 2012.