A nurse was attacked yesterday by the relatives of a patient at MGM hospital at Warangal but the hospital staff went to her rescue and also thrashed that person before he was handed over to police.

There is always a conflict of interest that exists between the hospital staff and the relatives of the patients particularly in-patients.  In a hospital, the service is a duty of the hospital staff.  They look upon the patients as human bodies in which something went wrong which is being corrected by the mechanic of the human machine called doctor and the staff has to assist him.  They take it as a duty to be discharged according to the rules that are laid out in the organization.

Whereas, the patients’ relatives attending on the patient with a sentimental attachment find fault with the way their relative is treated in the hospital.  If the hospital staff concentrates on only one patient the way the relatives do, they cannot discharge their duties.  If they start shedding tears and lose heart at the sight of the patient’s condition, they cannot attend other patients.  So they have to do their allotted work without any sentimental attachment.   In addition to it, they have to abide by the administrative rules of the hospital.  There can be some problems in the administration like shortage of bed sheets, some equipment etc.  

Above all this, the hospital staff also are human beings who need some rest and who are not devoid of likes and dislikes.  When they work for their livelihood they may have some demands to be fulfilled by the management.  

But the relatives of the patients do not think of all these things.  They want their patient to be attended first and with all the devotion and focusing on the singe patient.  They think in terms of their sentimental attachment but they do not think of the person attending there who may have his or her own interests, sentiments and likes and dislikes.  

A human touch is required no doubt in discharging the duties at the hospitals but they too should be understood when one wants them to understand.  

Physical violence is not an answer if any slackness is found at the hospitals.  

(AW-SriJa)