Weather, the deciding factor !
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: October 22 2011 -

Ningombam Pramod from the desk

In Manipur the weather and climatic condition does not only become a deciding factors for low or high yield of crops in a particular period of time, it also decides as to whether a patient in a hospital can be operated or not.

Interesting! Unbelievable? Yet it's true.

It may not happen anywhere else in the world, or to be precise, in any private or government run hospital in the state, but it has definitely happened in JN hospital, one of the most reputed government run hospital in the state, which the Chief Minister proclaimed would be converted into a full fledged Medical Institute.

As common people or as well qualified personalities, we have come across various incidents where weather has to a large extent decided the fate of certain events.

We have come across football matches, tennis matches and even International flights cancelled or delayed due to bad weather conditions, but definitely not routine operations in a hospital being cancelled due to bad weather or for the sun god refusing to come out.

It has been very well said that Manipur is a place of wonders. Anything can happen in Manipur. And it's quite a wonder that the routine operations of JN hospital came to a halt due to bad weather.

As the weather was cloudy, the washed clothes which were to be worn by doctors and patients and other staffs during an operation could not be dried.

Wow, what an excuse, what a lame excuse for JNIMS, an Institute which has been upgraded from the earlier JN Hospital, which is gradually expanded to accommodate 700 beds from the existing 326 beds, an Institute which admits 100 students annually according to MCI regulations, where there are 26 professors, 7 associate professors, 44 assistant professors and adequate number of junior doctors.

This was an act of total negligence from the part of the concern authority which should have never happened. Yet it has happened. And who is to be blame. And who is at the receiving end. We need to ponder more on that.

What more, the authorities are blaming each other for the problem, one trying to climb over the other and vice versa. And yet more interestingly, the Medical Superintendent of JN hospital has ordered for the procurement of a mere washing machine as substitute for the out of order drying comber machine, a machine costing lakhs of rupees, as a stop gap arrangement.

Hats off to him for his flinching act and good presence of mind in tackling the situation!

Alright, let's face the reality and get down to business for a moment. What is the conditions of all those patients who are normally lined up in queue, waiting for their turn to be operated upon?

Does this mean that if the weather condition remains the same for quite a few days, say 5/6 days, no operations will be done?

Is the fate of the people of the state completely in the hands of a day's weather? Well a whole lot of debate needs to be done on the topic at present, looking at the recent scenario.

At the end what does all these negligence and blame game lead to. Well, if at all one has to undergo an operation in the JN Hospital, better look for the day's weather forecast; you might end up in the middle of dilemma.

Whatever be the case, the call of the hour is that weather should never be the deciding factor, whatsoever.