mid-day editorial: There's a reason it's called health 'care'

When a loved one falls ill, we turn to our hospitals and doctors in the trust that they will do everything in their power to help. So imagine the shock and despair that Santosh Ranjane must have felt when he took his critically ill brother-in-law to KEM Hospital, only to be told that he would have to manually pump oxygen into his brother's system because there were no ventilators available.

From 3 pm to 7.30 pm, Ranjane sat by his brother-in-law's bedside, urgently pumping oxygen. Although his hands soon began to ache, he could not take a moment's rest - the patient's every breath depended on him. It was only after four and a half hours that his tired fingers got some respite, after the doctors managed to provide a ventilator.

While one can understand that hospitals are worn thin with the number of patients outnumbering equipment, this nightmare could have been prevented by simple coordination at the time of the admission itself. The patient was transferred to KEM from an Andheri hospital, and the two hospitals should have first discussed the facilities on either end to decide how advisable it was to move him there.

If it is known that the patient will need a ventilator and no ventilator is available then, the family needs to be informed while admitting the patient. It is better that they are told straight away rather than doctors having to face the family's ire. In this worst case situation, the hospital could have at least provided for one staffer to assist the relative in manually pumping the oxygen machine, as it is very tiring for a single person.

In these instances, medical institutions should have staff constantly reassuring the family, to facilitate reaching out to other relatives, and especially to assist the family in any way necessary. A well-trained staffer should be brought in to assist in such situations, as it can be are extremely trying for the families and doctors. After all, there's a reason why it's called health ‘care'.