The Name Game

Everyone has his or her own name, and most of the people are proud of their own names. Some don't like their names, and some of these unhappy ones get their names changed officially. It is also necessary that we honor people's names and write and pronounce them properly. It is important not only for keeping their feelings unhurt, but also for legal purposes. Our patient's case papers have their names written on all the pages. When the patient gives a consent for an operative procedure, she writes her own name and then signs under the details of the consent. If the patient cannot write very well, the resident doctor in charge of the ward writes her name and she signs or puts her left thumb impression, depending on how literate she is. Yesterday I was checking the case paper and consent of a patient scheduled to undergo an operative procedure. Her name was सुवर्णा गणपत पाटील (Suvarna Ganapat Patil). That was how it was written on the case paper. She wasn't very literate. So the resident doctor had written it in the consent form. Unfortunately the doctor wasn't very good with Devnagari script (the local language). So she wrote it as सुवर्णना गणपत पाटील (Suvarnana Ganapat Patil). सुवर्णा means one with a good complexion. The word सुवर्णना does not exist, but it would mean one who has a good description. The patient either did not notice any difference or did not mind it even if she noticed it. She signed her name as सुवर्णा गपत पाटील (Suvarna Gapat Patil). Either she did not like her husband's name and wanted to spite him, or was less literate than one who can at least write her name. The word गपत has no meaning. At the end of it all, I am still a little confused about the legal validity of the consent document.