Sleep Well O Vigilant One

“This is too much” the voice of the associate professor (AP) saying this was three octaves higher than usual. “Something must be done about it.” It was likely that someone was someone higher than that AP, and since I was the head of the department, it could be I who had to do something about it. So I asked “what happened?” “I came down to the OT yesterday at 2 A.M. for an emergency case.” That was not a very common thing, because the lecturer or senior resdient on duty can usually manage all emergencies well. It must have been a complicated case. “It was a bad case of uterine rupture. When I arrived, the two security officers at the entrance to the ward were sound asleep in their chairs, and so was the nurse on duty.” That sounded like the night watchmen of residential complexes. They are usually asleep after midnight, and if a resident arrives in his car later than that, he has to honk loudly a few times to wake the security fellows up to open the gate and let the resident in. I had not known the same practice was followed by the hospital security personnel. “The nurse on duty in the ward was sound asleep in her chair too. I have taken their photos on my mobile camera, but unfortunately they are blurred.” That was not surprising. I mean the blurring was not surprising. I will comment on the nurse's alleged sleep later. If the AP had to go to the hospital after travelling for one hour at 2 A.M. to find the people who should be awake and vigilant fast asleep, the hand would shake and the photos would be blurred. “This is atrocious. Something must be done about it.” I knew that I could not do anything more than complaining in this matter, because the security officers and the nurse worked under someone else's supervision and control. Complaining to appropriate authorities was something the AP could also do. The vigilance people like the senior AMO and night superintendent were really the people who had to note such occurrences and take preventive action. But was such an action safe? I knew the MCI wants the institute to provide a duty room for the nurse on duty. That is spelled out clearly in the MCI book on requirements for medical colleges' recognition. Though the purpose of the duty room is not stated clearly, it is obvious that the nurse has to sleep in the room if it is there. If she is to remain awake and keep working, what is the purpose of the duty room? So if anyone actually complained about the nurse going to sleep in her chair, the MCI may actually pull up the authorities for not providing a room for her to sleep. It is better to say 'sleep well' while leaving the ward after the day's work, if the people on night duty feel inclined to go to sleep.