SUPPOSE an elderly person suffers brain stroke, loses consciousness and rushed to a hospital.
The concerned medical personnel frantically try to revive him.
On witnessing several clots following CT scan, the family members are just intimated that immediately an operation is required to be done and whether they are providing consent to it!
Surely it is not possible for any non-medical individual to assess the situation logically and in that emergency phase, with his/her own gasping for breath, might provide consent to the operation by thinking only this procedure can save the precious life!
Operation accomplished and the patient lands in comatose situation.
And now the Doctor “honestly” “enlightens” the family members that at this age of life, it is almost impossible to say when he would gain consciousness or whether he will revive at all in future!
Obviously medical science and the doctors also have a limitation.
But shouldn’t this picture of hard reality be placed before the family members of the patient before insisting them to say “Yes/No” to the operation!
Shouldn’t the medical personnel also enlighten the family about the alternative of operation and its implications!
Surely passing away within days by taking exclusive support of medicines (amounting to few lakhs) would have been preferable for all than a hugely painful death of the operated patient after languishing for weeks in comatose situation (with bills surpassing a million)!
Shouldn’t this business of medical “service” be done in a transparent fashion by transmitting a clear picture to the family about various modes of treatment, operation and it’s probable implications, thereby allowing them to make a decision as they deem fit!
Shouldn’t a counseling department, consisting of honest medical personnel, be ensured in every hospital who would place a clear picture of the situation before non-medical souls!
—The writer is a regular contributing columnist based in Kolkata, India. (kajal.chatterjee21@gmail.com)
