Show Stoppers

My institute is huge, and keeping it clean and tidy is a massive job. Luckily we have a large support staff to do this work. Unluckily the support staff has an attitude and a strong union. The employees do not report on duty at required time when they don't feel like. The strong union sees to it that no disciplinary action is taken on them except when the sky falls on our heads as a result of the activity or inactivity of the cleaners. When the hospital begins its work for the day, it should already be clean and tidy. Unfortunately the cleaning often begins when the health care personnel begin their work. The cleaners start their work late because they arrive on duty late, and of the two options – getting the cleaning done late or not at all, the former is more reasonable. I was stopped by a closed gate today morning. There were two security persons standing behind the closed gate, and a sweeper was mopping the floor beyond them. I asked them to let me in, because there was something quite important to be done early morning. They looked at my face, then at the sweeper, and back to me, without making any attempt at opening the gate. I lost my patience and snapped 'open the gate.' 'The floor is being cleaned,' one of them said by way of explanation of why he would not open the gate. 'I am the head of the gynecology department,' I said, 'open up'. 'How would we know that?' he said and opened the gate. So the gate would be opened for someone important, but not for the patients who came to us for treatment! I have heard complaints from doctors who are senior but not heads of departments that they were made to wait at the gate while the floor mopping ceremony was on. That patients in the wards and operation theaters waiting for these doctors to treat them were suffering was not an important point at all. I sometimes wonder if the institute's primary function is to let the employees to earn salary, and everything else is just there to justify this aim.