Yesterday(29th April 2012) night at around 8.30 pm, we(me and my husband) were travelling in our car and near Hoodi circle, we slowed down near a hump and suddenly a vehicle which was coming in high speed hit our car from behind. The vehicle was an Ambulance of Vydehi Instistute of Medical Science(VIMS). We were shocked, but since the vehicle was an ambulance, we were a bit relaxed and expected a help from them. But to our surprise they took a reverse and fled from the place. For God’s Grace, we both were wearing seat belts and nothing happened to us.
We noted down the vehicle number and we thought since the vehicle belongs to a hospital, we will inform them before going for police complaints and all. So we went directly to Vydehi Hospital. One person was there in the reception and we asked him where is Administrative Office. He was hearing that word for the first time in his life. We told him we have a complaint and we have to talk to someone who is responsible in handling issues related to hospital. He didn’t know anything. He was continuously telling that he is a new guy and he don’t know anything. This was the first response.
Again we searched for some management guys and one employee asked us to meet a person who is an HOD of some department. He was some senior doctor. We went to him and we clearly told him that we need to meet some people from the management side. Even if we knew that a doctor is just an employee of that institute and he cannot help us in that situation, we explained everything and I told him that I am 7 months pregnant and it was a narrow escape. To our surprise this man was least bothered about what we said and he told us to go and complain to the police. I asked him, “So you don’t have any problem, if a complaint goes against your hospital?” I don’t know what provoked him in this sentence; he suddenly started shouting at me. He was asking me, is this the way to speak. I was a bit shocked on his sudden change of tone and I didn’t understand what wrong I said.
We left his room and our relatives also came to the hospital.But the HOD to whom we talked earlier left the place. We were asking each of the people there, to provide some point of contact from the management and they were simply shouting at us. And the main thing is the person who shouted to our relatives was another doctor. I don’t understand why the doctors are this much involved in such kind of issues. We didn’t ask for any doctor.
Actually nothing happened to us or our car, but the kind of responses that we got from the Ambulance driver(initially) and later from the hospital authorities and finally from the doctors(whom we consider as guards of life)make me scared to travel in this metro city. Whom can we rely on? Our intention was just to inform the hospital authorities how their employees behave in public. But finally it turned out in a different way that we understood how people are, how high famed institutions are. And another thing is, if this the way a senior doctor behaves to a pregnant lady, how will be the patients treated over there? We do respect their profession. But people like this force us to change our beliefs…