Since this discussion is about Cloud Nine, lemme also narrate our 4 yr experience during the pre & post delivery consultation. We have now permanently bid it goodbye, due to the below experience!
Apart from the feel-good factor which many have mentioned, a strong sense of’highly commercialized operations’, hit you slowly, but surely at every stage.
Before & during delivery:
Dr Prakash Kini - Always in a hurry, gets impatient when there is any delay, from nurse or patients & rarely makes anyone feel comfortable. Although, its an everyday job for these doctors that doesn’t mean you carry on with your’business’ like you’re doing a favor to the world. You pay 500 for each consultation & he does what? Makes you get on the weighing scale ASAP & checks the fetus’ heartbeat in a jiffy for last 2 trimesters. No free information unless asked. NEXT!
Citing the WHO report here, on increasing no of C-sections in India due to commercial reasons, he too highly recommends it & if asked gives silly reasons as to why we cant go for normal delivery Eg. 15 days before the due date he says that the mucous plug still hasn’t come-off so we may not be able to go ahead with normal. Of course, it comes-off only during labor pain, which we knew only on the day of delivery.
During labor, a couple seeks their doctors presence for moral support if its their 1st time. at least 1 visit by him earlier, would’ve made us comfortable during the labor. He was called many times by the nurses but he came last moment, finished & left within 15 mins.
Neo-natology:
Dr Kishore(MD, CloudNine) - He seems nice to talk to / most comfortable to interact. but again highly commercialized nevertheless. He stars with a list of various optional vaccinations & gives you brochures to go through stuff you cant understand in the 1st place & don’t want to take chances. Even if you do, how will you know what is to be administered from the 6-7 optional vaccines for preventing that chance of contracting that disease in India?
Doctors know that Mothers on the other hand, wont take chances & shall make even the most rational-minded husbands keep shut & do as the doctor says. "Why take that 0.1% chance", they blast us instead & make us go for all the available & recommended vaccines, naturally putting a smile on the MD’s face.
Pediatrics:
Dr Kishore(MD, CloudNine) - Every interaction with Kishore Kumar(3 yrs since birth) has seen us changing medicines for common cold/cough, which are usually available only in their pharmacy. Once its over, keep running around looking for the same brand in min 5-6 stores OR go back to C9 to buy the same. Why? Do you get extra benefits from new medicine launches that you ignore established brands, experiment on our kids & make us run around the’market’?
Also, he will usually keep a tab permanently open of a website where he constantly not only educates himself but also for us. Its good as a cross-reference, but constant reference to websites in all matters, makes us nervous. For me, a doctor must be sure of everything he communicates. We cannot blame the website if his reference & our understanding goes wrong, can we?
Moral of the story - All of them must have started right in the initial phase of their careers. But unfortunately, ’commercialization of Bangalore’ from its earlier status of a’pensioners paradise’ hasn’t spared this sacred profession either. The more well-known & experienced the doctor is, the shorter their consultation timings & care taken by them especially in such, well-advertised hospitals who run’pure business’. We recommend that you go to their pvt clinics instead & just deliver in C9 for a good overall experience during those tense & finally joyous moments by choosing a good doctor.
Update: We visited Dr Leela Bhagvan @ C9 while expecting our 2nd baby. She suggested’Nutralite pregnancy kit’ for Rs.8000(An Amway product & recommends to buy from a particular distributor only) without writing any medicine names/alternatives in the record file. So we chucked her file & dumped her for another Doctor. Looks like crazy money making MLM schemes have also taken the Medical fraternity by storm!