(middle, The Tribune)
Dr Anjali Mehta
A new piece of equipment had been bought at the charitable hospital I work with. It had to be “inaugurated”. Unlike other instruments which had been bought and used without much fuss or preamble (and discovered accidentally by the intended users - typically a doctor would say.. “hey the table looks cluttered today!” and someone would point out -“that’s because these new lenses are lying on it” ) this was different. Here, a fuss had to be made.This was because a well known public figure had funded the purchase and his generosity had to be highlighted. It would have been most unbecoming of the management to slip the generous envelope into their pocket followed by silence. It would have served to ensure that this was the only cheque of its kind !
One of the senior board members, a no-nonsense Gandhian type, correctly pointed out that work must go on as usual on this, the inauguration day. I was asked to commence work in the OT (operation theatre) straightaway , and I was happy to oblige. The “original”chief guest being busy, had sent a family member to do he honours (much like arranged marriages in older times…show one sisters face and send another for the ceremony…)
The site chosen for the inauguration was ( for some inexplicable reason) the block room just outside the main operation theatre. This is where anaesthetic injections are given prior to surgery. We reasoned that since the equipment was an operating one the management may have wanted it to be near its natural habitat (even before its actual use). The theatre itself could not have been chosen for sterility reasons.
The chief guest had arrived and the entourage was going around the hospital. It was suggested that I start giving the anaesthetic injections in the block room. I surveyed how the staff was going around putting flowers and garlands near the machine. I reckoned that were the chief guest to come into the room just then and I were seen lurking in the background with hypodermic needles instead of flowers, there was a fair chance that the security guards might arrest me. I refused, deciding to give the blocks inside the theatre instead.
Accordingly, I changed into OT gear but soon encountered a problem. They had taken the old phacoemulsification machines’ stand to place the “to be inaugurated” machine on so we had no stand on which to place our old machine and start the surgeries. I suggested to sister that we shift the machine with its decorations ( ribbon et al ) onto a more dispensable table. Easy enough; the machine was not very heavy. The only problem was that if the chief guest entered the room right when we had lifted the machine off its original table, it could prove awkward. The stand had a green table cloth and flowers upon it (upon which sat the gleaming new machine), the other table was bare. So we could be in an odd situation where the decorations were on the stand and the machine on the other bare table (if we did not have sufficient time to deck up the other table).The worst case scenario was if the machine was in sister’s and my arms and we had one bare table and one decorated stand on either side of us. I decided that were we indeed caught in the act, we would nonchalantly pretend that it was meant to be that way…they could just cut the ribbon while sister and me were holding the machine. The only drawback being that this large scissor would be precariously close to the fingers of my left and her right hand which were in front near the bow of the ribbon. I quickly summarized for sister the story about the legendary William Tell of Switzerland and how his son stood with the apple on his head while he fired the arrow. I inspired her to prove that we had the kid’s bravery hiding in our hearts and this was the time to exhibit it. She felt stirred enough by the story to agree.
As things transpired, the chief (replacement) guest took her time and we were able to place the decorated tablecloth on the new table and the machine on it without being interrupted.
We then briskly got down to work. From the OT we were able to broadly follow the proceedings… loud clapping meant the ribbon was cut, rhythmic chanting meant some form of prayer and so on .. so the day proceeded with this harmonious side by side inauguration and surgery.. and thus our new equipment came into being.
Dr Anjali Mehta
A new piece of equipment had been bought at the charitable hospital I work with. It had to be “inaugurated”. Unlike other instruments which had been bought and used without much fuss or preamble (and discovered accidentally by the intended users - typically a doctor would say.. “hey the table looks cluttered today!” and someone would point out -“that’s because these new lenses are lying on it” ) this was different. Here, a fuss had to be made.This was because a well known public figure had funded the purchase and his generosity had to be highlighted. It would have been most unbecoming of the management to slip the generous envelope into their pocket followed by silence. It would have served to ensure that this was the only cheque of its kind !
One of the senior board members, a no-nonsense Gandhian type, correctly pointed out that work must go on as usual on this, the inauguration day. I was asked to commence work in the OT (operation theatre) straightaway , and I was happy to oblige. The “original”chief guest being busy, had sent a family member to do he honours (much like arranged marriages in older times…show one sisters face and send another for the ceremony…)
The site chosen for the inauguration was ( for some inexplicable reason) the block room just outside the main operation theatre. This is where anaesthetic injections are given prior to surgery. We reasoned that since the equipment was an operating one the management may have wanted it to be near its natural habitat (even before its actual use). The theatre itself could not have been chosen for sterility reasons.
The chief guest had arrived and the entourage was going around the hospital. It was suggested that I start giving the anaesthetic injections in the block room. I surveyed how the staff was going around putting flowers and garlands near the machine. I reckoned that were the chief guest to come into the room just then and I were seen lurking in the background with hypodermic needles instead of flowers, there was a fair chance that the security guards might arrest me. I refused, deciding to give the blocks inside the theatre instead.
Accordingly, I changed into OT gear but soon encountered a problem. They had taken the old phacoemulsification machines’ stand to place the “to be inaugurated” machine on so we had no stand on which to place our old machine and start the surgeries. I suggested to sister that we shift the machine with its decorations ( ribbon et al ) onto a more dispensable table. Easy enough; the machine was not very heavy. The only problem was that if the chief guest entered the room right when we had lifted the machine off its original table, it could prove awkward. The stand had a green table cloth and flowers upon it (upon which sat the gleaming new machine), the other table was bare. So we could be in an odd situation where the decorations were on the stand and the machine on the other bare table (if we did not have sufficient time to deck up the other table).The worst case scenario was if the machine was in sister’s and my arms and we had one bare table and one decorated stand on either side of us. I decided that were we indeed caught in the act, we would nonchalantly pretend that it was meant to be that way…they could just cut the ribbon while sister and me were holding the machine. The only drawback being that this large scissor would be precariously close to the fingers of my left and her right hand which were in front near the bow of the ribbon. I quickly summarized for sister the story about the legendary William Tell of Switzerland and how his son stood with the apple on his head while he fired the arrow. I inspired her to prove that we had the kid’s bravery hiding in our hearts and this was the time to exhibit it. She felt stirred enough by the story to agree.
As things transpired, the chief (replacement) guest took her time and we were able to place the decorated tablecloth on the new table and the machine on it without being interrupted.
We then briskly got down to work. From the OT we were able to broadly follow the proceedings… loud clapping meant the ribbon was cut, rhythmic chanting meant some form of prayer and so on .. so the day proceeded with this harmonious side by side inauguration and surgery.. and thus our new equipment came into being.
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