I’m
literally sick of doctors. Not just in that I hate visiting doctors, hospitals,
clinics and popping pills. But I am truly sick and tired of the kind of doctors
I’ve met lately—and all of them seem to be the same. Unfortunately, I’ve had a
host of problems lately which has led me into the cabins of a gynaecologist, an
ENT specialist, a dentist and an orthopaedic. And every single experience has
been horrific and blood-boiling, to put it mildly.
Gynaecologists
are supposed to be gentle, understanding and patient. The one I met, supposedly
a famous one, was anything but these. On first glance, she is a sweet old lady
who treats you like a grandchild. But during the course of my two very short
visits I discovered that she was impatient, snappy and rough—too busy to spend
time on one patient; she had money to make! This woman was so terrible that she
literally drove me to tears and I vowed never to return to her.
My ENT
doctor has been one I’ve been going to for the last three years or so. He’s
told me the same thing every time—I have a recurring infection. But I was never
thinking clearly; to me, he eased my excruciating pain and that made me want to
go back to him every time. He also instructed me to visit only one particular
pharmacy for the medicines he prescribed, every single time. I never quite saw
through this till my friends pointed it out. The last time I went to him, I was
adamant not to go to the particular chemist so that he doesn’t get his cut.
Thereafter, I visited at least 8-10 chemists across the city and none of them
had all the medicines. Apart from this, he has always been full of personal
questions (he remarkably remembers every single detail of my personal life,
that I foolishly shared before) and does not get the hint when I don’t want to
discuss it with him. I’m simply going to find a new ENT the next time my
problem resurfaces.
Finally, I
went to an orthopaedic a few days ago. He checked me out (after which my pain
was only exacerbated) and after making some small talk, I exited his cabin to
pay the OPD fee. It’s only then that I discovered that the fee for his moving
around my wrist for less than 10 minutes was a whopping 1,000 bucks. I sighed
but relented. Since I wasn’t carrying that much cash I asked whether I could
either go to an ATM to withdraw the money or could pay by card. The lady at the
desk said I would have to pay by card but would have to pay 200 bucks extra
(this was after she had a quick conversation with the blessed doctor). Again, I
sighed and relented. It was my fault that I hadn’t asked how much the fee was
before I came and that I didn’t carry enough cash. I specifically asked her for
a bill, which she said she would furnish once the payment was done. I was taken
downstairs where I made the card payment and then returned to the very polite
lady’s desk to ask for my bill. I was then rudely told that the doctor had left
and I would have to come back for the receipt. I was fuming, especially since I
had already made it clear that I need the bill—1200 bucks isn’t a small amount.
She put her hands up and asked me to speak directly to the doctor.
I did send
the good doctor a message who categorically told me that he cannot give me a
receipt till he receives the cash in hand, which could take up to seven to ten
days. In the interim, he told me, the hospital would give me a bill. Utter
bullshit, either way.
What has
happened to the honour associated with the medical profession? Yes, money is important
for all of us, I don’t deny that. But for a doctor, is that all it’s about?
Wasn’t the profession supposed to be about helping and healing people? When did
it become about fastest money first, at the expense (literally) of their poor
suffering patients?
I have
truly had it with these miserable creatures. I’m so tempted to name each one of
these doctors, but I’m using every last ounce of willpower to refrain from
doing so. Henceforth, I’d prefer to either let my problems solve themselves, or
take bloody good care of myself so that I don’t have to keep going back to
them—alone, that too.
No comments:
Post a Comment