My brother returned home yesterday night and as usual was full of stories about the day in office .Our new CM's spat with the hospital super was the toast of the day. Clients visiting his office had brought the news with them .The Hospital Chief had chided the CM for entering the MRI section with hordes of press behind her.He had been asked to report at the CM's office next morning for a discussion .The Chief had declined since he had several operations lined up from morning and would be free only in the evening. I obviously brushed the story aside .I thought it was all gossip .Who would dare to challenge the CM ? However this morning the news was all over in the newspapers.The Chief had been sacked for his audacity.
Now there are several angles to this issue. Safety of patients is more important for a doctor than pleasing a dignitary. We had taken our mother for an MRI scan and nobody was allowed to enter the area. So the Chief was probably right when he questioned the unauthorised entry of so many persons in the restricted area. .We know how overworked docs are in Govt hospitals .I am not sure whether the Doc could have cancelled his hospital appointments and visited the CM's office in the morning as directed. Operation cases are mostly emergency cases so the probability of delaying such cases would be nil. Did the Chief violate any official norm by being openly assertive. Government hospitals are in pathetic state and need urgent overhauling.The CM's concern is genuine . Her surprise checks at government institutions are being lauded by common citizens.Everyone agrees that West Bengal needs drastic measures to improve the present state of affairs..But there are ways of doing things. Already the Left Association is angry over the issue.
My brother had heard the story even before the media started reporting it. The version he had heard was obviously not exactly what had been reported in the press this morning. What was being reported in the press was again laced with lot of journalistic imagination .The only undistorted truth about the entire episode was the eventual outcome of the incident - the suspension order - which was pretty drastic and straightforward. Not sure whether the outcome was actually responsible for the media getting so much interested and hyper.
I simply wonder at the pace at which such news spreads in every nook and corner of a society .Even if you are in a closed chamber from morning till evening without any direct access to any news media you are never really cut off from the outside world. The world enters your protected domain even if you think you are living in isolation completely disconnected from the world outside..Even if you do not want to hear many things you are invariably forced to do so.Even my illiterate maid who stays in a shack and does not have a television or radio at home was discussing the issue this morning .There can be selective dissemination of information but in today's world there probably cannot be any selective intake of information.
Now there are several angles to this issue. Safety of patients is more important for a doctor than pleasing a dignitary. We had taken our mother for an MRI scan and nobody was allowed to enter the area. So the Chief was probably right when he questioned the unauthorised entry of so many persons in the restricted area. .We know how overworked docs are in Govt hospitals .I am not sure whether the Doc could have cancelled his hospital appointments and visited the CM's office in the morning as directed. Operation cases are mostly emergency cases so the probability of delaying such cases would be nil. Did the Chief violate any official norm by being openly assertive. Government hospitals are in pathetic state and need urgent overhauling.The CM's concern is genuine . Her surprise checks at government institutions are being lauded by common citizens.Everyone agrees that West Bengal needs drastic measures to improve the present state of affairs..But there are ways of doing things. Already the Left Association is angry over the issue.
My brother had heard the story even before the media started reporting it. The version he had heard was obviously not exactly what had been reported in the press this morning. What was being reported in the press was again laced with lot of journalistic imagination .The only undistorted truth about the entire episode was the eventual outcome of the incident - the suspension order - which was pretty drastic and straightforward. Not sure whether the outcome was actually responsible for the media getting so much interested and hyper.
I simply wonder at the pace at which such news spreads in every nook and corner of a society .Even if you are in a closed chamber from morning till evening without any direct access to any news media you are never really cut off from the outside world. The world enters your protected domain even if you think you are living in isolation completely disconnected from the world outside..Even if you do not want to hear many things you are invariably forced to do so.Even my illiterate maid who stays in a shack and does not have a television or radio at home was discussing the issue this morning .There can be selective dissemination of information but in today's world there probably cannot be any selective intake of information.
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