health-careless - 2

Yesterday, again, I was with the children (read 'building awareness' below). One of them came up with how, when his aunt was taken for delivery to the Vani Vilas hospital, the staff there played around till they were paid some Rs 1,000/- collectively, by way of bribes, before they got down to attending to her. For all that, it was a nightmarish experience. So much so, they have sworn never to step into a government hospital ever again.

In fact, on a subsequent occasion, when another family member needed to be hospitalized, they chose to go to St Martha’s hospital, and in spite of the fact that it cost them dear, nobody was complaining.

I asked the rest if they corroborated the view. They were unanimous in agreement. And, mind you, these are all from really poor sections of the society.