I had a failed cataract surgery in Delhi. Recently I came to Kolkata on an official visit. Some of my friends suggested visiting some well-known eye hospitals in the metropolis and understanding the extent of the failure. I was sweetly surprised that they were not taking names of any individual ophthalmologist or surgeons, but of the hospitals and institutions. In Delhi we always go by individual’s success rate not by that of the institutions they are attached to. Even the qualitative fame of the hospitals is measured by the attached list of these famed individuals. Hence I was delighted to visit a few and settled on three such institutions. I was happy when I found each of them diagnosed my setback as the same i.e. I need vitrectomy, cortex removal and repositioning of earlier implanted lens.
My dilemma started when I agreed to go for this major surgery. Where to go now for this risk? I did not know the competence of the surgeons, nor my friends or their friend’s friends knew any. How to go by an institution? Should I look for its architectural convenience or by its system in flowing the patient from one desk to other or by the size and complicated mechanism of the instruments used? Should I go by the look of the surgeons or that of the working people? I did not know what makes an institution more famed than competence of the protagonists running the show! Should I go through the history sheets of its founder or by the amount of wealth he put in running this business? There is no denying that in our country Health Care is a profit making business. And all these thoughts knotted my dilemma beyond my control.
However, I took a breath and went out to boldly to identify one. I should compare every aspects of Health Care to identify their qualitative situate, I resolved.
I could mark one out of the three I went earlier to. It was Sanakara Nethralaya, in the eastern suburb of the metropolis of Kolkata, at Mukundapur. I visitede the instituition for about a month on different days (during Feb-March, 2010) and what impressed me most was I interacted with only one individual at all the stages from Registration till finally deciding on the complicated surgery. I interacted with dozens of secretaries, assistants, technicians, office assistants, HRD officials, nurses and not less than nine doctors at different stages but, amazingly, I had a feeling that I talked to and guided, assisted, cared, examined by only one individual. The modulation in their voice, their decibel level, their personality all were in a straight level of vibrations. So many hospital personnel were running, sitting, assisting, examining but for me it was one person only. Except for the doctors, whose behavioral pattern was amazingly well orchestrated and tuned into one, all other persons seemed know everyone’s function at any point of time. An outsider like me needed only to differentiate a patient from the hospital personnel. Presence of no third person could be felt around. What acumen in offering Health Care!
I had my surgery with great faith. My recovery will be slow, I am told by the surgeon, and I trust him. I have no reason to disbelieve a person made of so many eyes, hearts and hands!
Note: My daughter,living in the US, all along protested my experimentation in searching a right place, instead of a right doctor,later told me that the person who had hands on my right eye was one of the bests in India, as per her search with various professionals.
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