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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Days 43, Wednesday, 28th December 2011

Dr. Yasser's absence from work is something I wrote about yesterday with equanimity, but today was quite another piece of cake. There had been 3 admissions in the wards, and, in addition, I did not wake up in time and reached the hospital a full 30 minutes after eight o'clock. I went to the OPD, but there were no patients yet. Hence, I kept my belongings on one side, and donning my apron, I went to the ward to see all the patients. There were 3 old patients as well, so it took me almost an hour to see all the six patients and complete the paper-work on them. In the meantime, the OPD sister Mauvi (Maria Rogelio from the Philippines) called me two or three times, saying that the OPD was filling up with patients and they were getting restless. I respectfully told her to make them wait as I was busy with indoor work. Accordingly, I reached the OPD at about 45 minutes past nine o'clock.


The OPD was hectic, and there were a few quarrelsome patients who made me very upset. I came on the verge of shouting at them, but kept my temper in control. Eventually, the tide of patients stemmed only a few minutes before noon, which is also the time we break for lunch and salaah.


There was a lot of additional activity in the hospital. A huge team of people from the Ministry of Health had come to the hospital to take a look at the condition of the place. Here, let me cue you in to the problem that the hospital has faced since inception in 2007. The walls in different areas keep developing cracks that seem not only unsightly but also dangerous, since they bring into question the safety of the hospital for its staff and for the patients. For example, there is a long vertical crack in the ER just outside the USG (ultrasound) room that goes inward to the ceiling of the said room. 


Hence the hectic activity that was taking place outside the OPD throughout the premises. I discovered that the cafeteria was also closed since it was busy hosting all the visitors. In similar fashion, most of the usual office staff were busy entertaining the MOH guests.


In the evening, I learned that the visitors had "okayed" the hospital and ordered urgent repairs to the various faulty areas.


In the evening, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I had dal and rice for dinner, whereas Dr. Niaz, my co-habitant had rice and chicken ordered from an Arab restaurant called "Zam zam" (it is quite a popular place, since its manager also delivers orders home or to the place where the customer wants it delivered - e.g. at the hospital by a doctor , nurse or any other employee).


I watched a full-length movie (Love Aaj Kal) before sleeping.

1 comment:

MUHBEEN said...

just a word of caution. pl organise ur timing well so that u do not keep any serious patient waiting for too long. the locals are usually restless in such situations.
what ever happens try not to lose ur temper, do not have a tiff with anybody as sometimes minor episodes may take an ugly turn. keep ur focus on the purpose u have gone there i.e. to work efficiently and make money. tc