Of patients and patience

Working in a government hospital means that I am never short of patients. And for that reason, our patients often complain that public healthcare staff are too busy and lack that gentle human touch when delivering services to the public. In other words, we lack patience, and no wonder.

Well, now the roles have reversed. Never before have I had to see a doctor so frequently in such a short period - I now require weekly antenatal visits. After yet another excruciating wait in the clinic this morning, I think I should just follow the advice of a well meaning friend, which is to walk up and down the apartment stairs as often as possible to speed up the onset of labour! Anything, to avoid another visit to the antenatal clinic.

"How can a society that exists on instant mash potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners and instant cameras teach patience to its young?" - Paul Sweeney

I never had much patience, and I blame it on my genes. I have always disliked waiting for people. At least now most of us have mobile phones and you can pester a friend incessantly two minutes after the supposed meeting time. Not that many years ago, a 10am appointment was just that, and we could only guess at the reason when someone didn't turn up on time.

At clinics, I expect the patient to step through the door no less than 30 seconds after ringing their numbers. After all, we usually have patients in the hundreds to get through in a morning. In the operating theatres, we have internal audits studying the time required for a patient to arrive in OT after calling for them. Anything longer than the stated limit, the ward staff would be threatened with an incident report.

My mother wonders why I am impartial to Chinese soup. Some families cannot do without it every evening, and I am certain that I will have my fair share of it during confinement. I simply cannot imagine why people would bother spending hours boiling something, throwing half of it away - bones, meat, herbs and unpalatable things (only so because it has been boiled to the point of tastelessness) - and drinking only what seems to be a small fraction from all that effort. Why make chicken essence when you can just eat the chicken? Why juice something when you can just enjoy the fruit whole?

"The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it open." - Arnold H. Glasow

Well, obviously God knows I need some lessons in patience.

Three months ago, I perfected the skill of lying on my back and studying the ceiling for most of my daylight hours. Lying in the hospital ward, I could do little other than time my contractions. Sitting in a busy antenatal clinic, I had to wait to register, wait to get the regular tests done, and wait again to see my busy specialist. Then of course, there's the wait to get another appointment and the wait to see the sonographer.

Once I even had to wait for a doctor to take a blood sample after 4 unsuccessful attempts by the clinic nurses. You can imagine how annoyed I was when told that I would have to come back after the lunch hour, despite having spent the whole morning, yes, waiting.

" The real secret of patience is to find something else to do in the meantime." - Anonymous

How ironic that while I should complain about having too much time now, I realise that my baby will demand all of my time and attention in the not too distant future. To be honest, I have a task list that I had hoped to get through in the last weeks and months but never really found the discipline or desire to complete. Enjoy my relative freedom now, as friends have said.

I suppose I could have checked and told you who the people are that I have just quoted. But you know me, I have no patience for that...