My
First Day As A Hospital Manager
I was appointed as the
manager of a private hospital newly acquired by one of my old but
rich doctor friends.
He does his consultation
only in the latter half of the day and he requested me to go and find
the running problems.
The old doctor who was over
80 years, did come to the hospital and sat in his chair and started
seeing patients, only a few in number.
I was not sure he had
forgotten that he had sold it outright to my friend or whether he is
expecting a job from the new administration or totally demented to
understand that he had sold the assets.
Anyway, it was a blessing
in disguise and I thought of looking at the sanitary facilities.
A little boy came for
testing of a urine sample.
I volunteered getting the
sample and picked him up from his mother’s hand and walked to the
toilet with the mother following me closely behind.
I could not enter it with
filth coming under the door.
I went looking for another
and that was even worse.
I handed over the kid to
the mother and was looking for a conservancy labourer (that's how they
are called in this blessed land) to order the cleaning job.
Then a guy came in front of
me and I quickly figured he was one of them and asked him to do the
cleaning.
Then the matron intervened
me and said he was fired yesterday.
I said never mind.
He is reinstated but “You
are fired from this moment”.
Then for my bad luck my
entire family (only time I had seen the entire family in one place)
has come to see me and all of them were sleeping in two bed rooms
hastily made one for males one for females.
I went for the back door of
the bed room to secure it but before I could reach their, I saw a female attendant was entering through it.
I told her to go home for
today and when she comes the next day, bring a letter why she came
through that door as an explanation.
The sister intervened and
said “she was appointed the very day” and I told her never mind,
she goes home.
The sister and the new
attendant were snooping on our family instead of looking after the
patients.
Or may be the previous
occupants may have been screwing them in that room.
That is how it operates in
Ceylon.
I
decided to give a running commentary (report) to the new boss, but
did not expect the worst of scenarios to happen.
I
related the first story.
He
was not moved.
I
related the second story.
Before
I could finish, his face became blue and he hit the floor, face down.
He
was dead or he had a heart attack.
The
pressure getting to him. too.
The
third he knew that my resignation was coming fast.
I
ran to the bed room where my family was resting to say to them “that
we are leaving right now”.
That
was the first time in my life, I left a patient unattended, mind you
my boss and ran home.
With
the shame of not attending to my old friend and my boss. I woke up
cross with me.
My
You, this was a real dream.
It
actually illustrates how a hospital is run its day to day affairs.
This
is the answer to my friends who asks me “Why I do not see patients
in my twilight years”.
It
is a stressful job.
Now
I enjoy looking after the rooftop garden, and feeding the fish.
Looking
at the birds who frequent the little garden is a by product of having
a water garden.
They
come to clench their thirst and some of them including chameleon
gobble my fish.
