Jan 13 2009
Bribery to save your life
A sad fact in the big hospitals today is the practise of blackmailing of the patient’s families by the workers and junior staffs of the hospitals. You have to give a minimum amount varying from different hospitals to these people for jobs needed to be done officially by them for which they are being paid by the hospital authorities.
A nurse had refused to deliver the oxygen pump to a dying patient in a popular Kolkata hospital when his family members said her that they will pay her as soon as they reach the hospital. The patient was suddenly having breathing problems. Another nearby patient’s family informed his family about his deteriorating conditions and that he needed to be administered oxygen at that very instant. They couldn’t contact the doctors because they were afraid of negligence to their own patient by the staff. The family need time to arrive at the hospital but till then a worried relative called up the nurse on duty to administer the needed medicines to the patient.She simply refused to do any thing such until she got her 50Rs in hand. And the patient dies of breathing problems before his family could arrive there. The authorities now promises to take action. Its a month old incident which had appeared in the local newspaper.
May be the above mentioned nurse got sacked but the evil practise of blackmailing and threatening worried families of sick patients is still continuing. Where are the medical authorities when they really need to be be there? These people who lack basic humanity are given the job to nurse a patient back to health. It surprises me to think that we are paying tons of money as taxes to the Government to pay these people who are waiting for a chance to take advantage of our helplessness even if we are on our death bed.
