One big realisation that the Covid-19 pandemic made us cognisant of is that we need a stronger healthcare infrastructure. A Twitter thread shared by a South Korean national on the status of an Emergency treatment at AIIMS, one of Delhi’s topmost hospitals, is chilling.
The thread shared by @YujungHwang3 details her chaotic four hours at the emergency. With an aggressive crowd and frustrated nurses, Hwang got treated in a hurry.
She also described how she received minimal treatment amid bustling crowds, unhygienic conditions, overworked medical professionals, and dying patients. Reading her honest criticism, a section of desis got scandalised. Some even got irked at the woman for not visiting a private hospital instead.
But wait, isn’t this highly ignorant? Bidding her to attend a private facility for good medical attention implies somehow everyone knows the poor condition of public healthcare facilities. No one would dare do a thing, so privileged ones should ignore going there; cos ‘it’s not their problem.’ Right?
There were also perceptive desis who called out others judging the woman for not going to a private facility. They took her detailed account as a queue of a collapsing healthcare system in our country. Look at what they said.
If nothing else, her experience only exposes the reality of the public healthcare system, which is in shambles. Premium facilities at private hospitals are NOT an accurate index of our country’s healthcare infrastructure.