Sometimes it takes Dr Prathap C. Reddy two hours to get to his car. Apollo Hospital, Chennai, is not that large. But between his office and the parking lot he gets buttonholed by hundreds—people with loved ones fighting for life somewhere in his hospital.
They entreat him to find out why the doctors are huddling together in hushed whispers; they complain about the food; they sigh over the bills; they grumble, they gripe and they appeal for help from the man who set up the Apollo Group. From his 25 years of experience, Reddy knows the significance of that moment: “When they leave, they’ll remember just one thing: did my hospital care for me?”
How many of our hospitals would fulfil that very human need to feel cared for when we are at our most vulnerable? Check out the writing on the wall.
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