It is the complete absence of common sense and it is still waiting to be admitted.
NV Paulose, Chairman, Global TV +91 98441 82044
At Father Mullers Hospital, healing is considered a noble duty. However even nobler than healing is Procedure. Procedure does not sweat. Procedure does not hurry. Procedure does not improvise. Procedure does not bend to reality. Procedure exists for its own comfort and expects everyone else to adjust.
The patient arrives at the emergency ward on clear instruction from a practicing doctor. This is not a suggestion. It is not an experiment. It is a professional medical decision. One would reasonably assume that an emergency ward might treat such an arrival with urgency or at least with alertness. Instead the ward responds with calm meditation and a noticeable absence of speed.
Time stretches. The patient waits. Staff move with a seriousness that suggests importance but not urgency. The emergency ward seems to believe that emergencies are theoretical concepts rather than real situations involving real people.
Enter the family friend who brings the patient in. He completes the admission and responsibly informs the nurse that he is available on the phone. He steps out briefly. This is not abandonment. This is normal adult behavior in a world where mobile phones exist and hospitals are staffed by professionals.
The nurse insists that a bystander must be present.
- Why must a bystander be present
- What exactly will the bystander do
- Will the bystander administer treatment
- Will the bystander improve vital signs
- Will the bystander speed up the emergency process
These questions are not asked because questions are dangerous in the presence of Procedure.
The family friend explains calmly that his physical presence is not required. The patient is stable. The hospital staff are trained. He has arranged food and will return shortly. This explanation makes sense which is precisely why it fails.
Procedure does not respond to sense. Procedure responds only to rules whose origins have long been forgotten.
Food now becomes the next challenge. The emergency ward offers no comfortable space for a patient to eat despite the fact that waiting for hours appears to be standard practice. Eventually even Procedure concedes a small victory to logic. The nurse and the bystander agree that the patient should eat in the room.
For a brief moment common sense enters the building.
The bystander walks ahead to prepare the room. This is practical. This is efficient. This is adult behavior.
Then the nurse insists that he must accompany the patient.
The bystander says it is not necessary. He is going to the same room. The destination is identical. The timing difference is negligible. There is no risk involved.
He goes to the room.
This is where the tone shifts.
Suddenly with remarkable energy and speed the nurse decides that the patient must be taken to the X ray room. Even more suddenly the bystander must return immediately. The emergency ward which previously had all the urgency of a relaxed afternoon now moves with purpose.
- One cannot help but wonder
- Is this medical necessity or administrative irritation
- Is this patient care or procedural punishment
- Is this healthcare or a power demonstration
- The timing is impressive. The motivation is questionable.
Earlier the bystander was unnecessary. Now he is essential. Earlier food was important. Now imaging is urgent. Earlier time did not matter. Now time matters very much but only when enforcing attendance.
What kind of tradition is this
- Is this what Florence Nightingale envisioned
- Did she insist on constant physical presence of relatives before allowing care
- Did she delay treatment to enforce obedience
The emergency ward becomes a stage where Procedure is the main character. The patient becomes a supporting role. The bystander becomes a movable object whose purpose is to stand exactly where instructed.
Common sense waits quietly outside without an identity card.
This is not about one nurse or one moment. This is about a system where rules exist without explanation and are enforced without reflection. A system where responsibility is confused with proximity and care is confused with compliance.
The irony is hard to miss. The emergency ward moves slowly when the patient needs attention and swiftly when authority feels challenged. Energy appears not when pain demands it but when Procedure feels disrespected.
No one explains why the bystander must be present. No one explains how his presence changes the outcome. No one explains why logic is negotiable but rules are absolute.
The patient eventually receives care. The bystander eventually complies. Procedure remains undefeated.
Everyone leaves with a story. The patient leaves relieved but exhausted. The bystander leaves wiser and less trusting. The system remains unchanged and very proud of itself.
This is not a story about incompetence. It is a story about misplaced priorities. It is about how systems meant to serve people slowly begin to serve themselves. It is about how rules designed for safety become obstacles to care when they are followed without thought.
In the end the emergency ward treats the illness adequately. What it fails to treat is the deeper problem.
Because the real emergency here is not medical.
It is the complete absence of common sense and it is still waiting to be admitted.
