I am one of those guys to whom visting doctors is as tempting as it is for atheists to go to temple. But then at times, you are really left with no option. It was one such occasion and to minimize trauma, I chose to go to a hospital which claimed that ‘they care’. They had put posters everywhere outside the fences, just in case anyone didn’t know that some monthly had put them in the list of the best hospitals in India.
Yes am talking the famous Manipal Hospital, near Domlur in Bangalore.
As I entered the hospital, it was quite evident that there was nothing good about this place, and unlike to their motto they really ‘didn’t care’.
Queues at the reception were empty though the main hall looked similar to a scene from HAL market. The lady at the counter, without even asking for my preference for the mode of payment, generated cash bills. When I said that I would have preferred payment through card, she said a loud and unapologetic ‘sorry’ as if she was telling me ‘get the hell of here and don’t teach me my job!’.
The file was given to me and I was supposed to carry this to the doctor. They also gave me card like one of those ATM cards. Till now I couldn’t figure out what purpose it served. For if it was just a proof of registration and nothing else, they could have done better with a plain bill. Those electronic cards can do a lot more than just use as registration card. May be the self proclaimed ‘India’s one of the best hospitals’ didn’t know that!
The experiences with the doc were no good either. Despite poking down my throat all the metal things that they had at their disposal, they couldn’t really find out what actually is my causing me discomfort. I wish they had only let me say it. They held my tongue with a cloth and asked me to say ‘eeeeeeeeeeeee’.
How can u say ‘eeeeeeeee’ if your tongue is held by some one? And when I was almost on the verge of throwing up, she quiet efficiently transferred the blame of her inability to diagnose my problem on to my not being able to say ‘eeeeeeeee’ when my tongue was held by someone else!! Its like Ashish Nehra saying that he couldn’t hit a century because somebody was walking by the side screen!
It cost me almost 890 bucks for the whole thing including blood tests which I had already done outside. And what did I gain in the end, nothing!
They send me home with a bunch of paper (Yes they kept the file with them). They could have at the least put all the reports in an envelope so that everything stays together.
Compare this to Apollo Hospitals (Not the Sagar Apollo)
You register; the file is taken by the secretary of the doc whom you want to see to them. You wait for your turn in a very clean and neatly maintained lounge. When you are done with the doc, you file automatically reaches where you might have to conduct your tests. You don’t really have to know anything. At the end of visit, they hand you over a very neatly filed diagnosis report for the next follow-up.
Not just about the process they follow, they have excellent doctors. I went to Apollo for almost the same reason I visited Manipal. For lesser cost, Apollo gave me quality service and what’s even more important, a lot more better treatment!
I swore that day, if I have to I would never ever go to Manipal again.
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