Are they heard?

We at our work place have few timings that we adhere to, whatever happens. 10am in the morning: F&H (Fresh and Honest – our coffee cafe), 12:30pm: Lunch, 3pm: F&H. Today we were there at our usual time 3:30pm, being late is part of work right – be it office-work or coffee. As we started sipping our respective refresher, mine being a hot black coffee, one man shyly in a trying-to-approach mode moved towards us. We looked at him and he diligently handed over his Orthopaedic OP Consultation Report to us. Being part of the Ortho implementation of eHIS, I saw it and understood his concerns of reviews and follow-ups and told him that he has to come back to hospital and go to Urology department, room no. so and so day-after-tomorrow i.e. 21^st of July.

He was an old guy, not completely ragged but looked struggling. We asked him where he is from for he was to return after a day, could he afford to go home and come back? I just glanced through his report and knew he was from Anantapur. That was local. But his reply was surprising. “I don’t have any house. I just keep moving around and stay on whatever I get”. This came as no surprise to us. It has always been a case with the kind of patients that we get - from a poor village who come all the way just with a hope to see themselves and life better.

Though the hospital gives all its services free, was it enough? He was prescribed of medicines. Our hospital does not provide medicines for Outpatients but for Cardiac, though all prescriptions are taken care off for Inpatients including their diet. He was supposed to buy his medicines. Next obvious question from him was, “Sir, I cannot afford food, what I will buy medicines?” Then it struck. Here was the man, who didn’t have money for food, of what use was a free hospital for him? Person needs to supplement himself with proper diet if he had to recover. Fine, his entire Laboratory, Imaging tests will be done without his spending a pie, but how much of it was to improve his life? Biologically, may be substantial but in terms of life…?

We did what we deemed best in our limited perception. We bought him medicines for 2 days, not for 5 days which was prescribed for him, anyway he was to come back after 2 days to Urology Department which could always change the prescription and gave money for a meal. One person who we discovered as a pharmacist was following this conversation closely. He had come on some work to the hospital. He too at the end offered money for another meal and explained to him in pucca local language about his next course of action of coming to hospital, etc.

We have hospitals which offer free medicare, irrespective of any barriers, to all. We have educational institutions which give free educare to all, irrespective of anything. But do they solve all of their problems? These are building blocks for improving once overall life. But just individual existences are like cotton and plastic. Unless they are woven and molded into cloth and buttons, we don’t a single good piece of shirt! These are institutions which solve the monetary problems. But it’s the unique human who can change lives of each other. Make life a better place to live and let live.

More of Human Care is required than just the Health Care. Counseling, spending some time with the person and talking to them in the language that is understood to them makes such a great difference to them. The Consultation Report of this patient was in English. Of what help is it to the poor who doesn’t understand the black and white ink on the screen. It was worse than the black smoke coming out of their beedi, they understood it! But how much can an institution go to make things better for people. The people whom the hospital caters to are illiterate. Whether its English or Telugu or Hindi was hardly a concern. It loops back to the Human touch than Biomedical equipments.

Are they understood? Are they heard…