Date with Swine Flu ..

Some 4/5 days back , I was feeling a little low. There is a lot of hue and cry about swine flu these days. Hence, Mona insisted that we should go and get me checked.
We went out to a nearby private hospital – Columbia Asia. It’s a good one but was not equipped for swine flu. They were prompt in handing over to me a newspaper cutting which was about swine flu helpline in delhi. They also helped me with Gurgaon civil hospital’s contact no. as it was the nearest centre for check up.
I dialed the delhi swine flu helpline but it was busy for the next 15 min and I finally dropped the idea of contacting them. One phone no. for 2 cr population of NCR. Its simple lack of common sense. They need to have 50 lines at the back end. Anyways..
Now, I started dialing the Gurgaon civil hospital’s no.. Again, no body picked up both the numbers for next 15 min. Finally and luckily a typical government servant’s voice answered my call. When I said if it is possible to get swine flu checked in that hospital, the only thing he said was yes and he kept the phone without waiting. I wanted to know what time, where, who, when, how but no luck. I just don’t understand why as a citizen of this country I should digest the poor attitude of government servants. This attitude flows across all the departments whether it is health, water, power or income tax or any other.
I started trying again and was able to speak to somebody after 15 min. This time he gave me a mobile no. of a doctor saying that he will let me know further details. When I tried this doctor’s no. it was switched off. Again poor attitude..
Finally, I went on to the civil hospital, Gurgaon. It was a horrible experience. There I realized that even if I don’t have swine flu, I will catch something or the other. It was stinking and there was nobody to attend. It was dirty and….. oh god !!
I read in newspaper that Haryana government has declared swine flu as epidemic. Now , that’s how you prepare for epidemic.
Finally, I went to my all time favourite and neighbourhood doctor Dr. Jain. Since last couple of years he has been taking care of us whenever we have fever, cough, cold, viral, etc. He keenly discussed with me the symptoms of swine flu, listened to my symptoms, checked my temperature, ears, tongue and convinced me that I don’t have swine flu. No prescription. No medication. Just precautions. The moment I walked out of his residence cum clinic, I was a new person as has always happened with me.

And I was not feeling low now.

Cheers
Anurag Dangi