Give and Take? Nah!

“Sir, we have only one electrocautery in the operation theater” the sister of the emergency operation theater told me. That was bad. We had two OT tables, and needed two machines at a time. I had done my three year residency working in the same OT without a single cautery in early eighties. But that did not mean we should go back to that time. “Have you condemned both the cautery machines that the engineers said were not repairable?” I asked. “Yes, and they don’t have any spare cautery machines to lend us.” “I have processed for purchase of two new machines” I told her, “but you know how long it takes the corporation to purchase anything because of the complex procedure involved. Why do you not try to get one on loan from another OT?” “I will ask other sisters” she promised. A couple of days later, she found one. “The XXX OT sister has a spare machine. She will get permission of the head of department and then lend it to us” she said. I knew we would get the machine. I had lent a box packed cardioscope with defibrillator to that OT because they had none and their OT would have closed down without one. They had kept it for two and a half years because they could not procure one. It broke down. Finally they gave us a new one when they got their new machines. Another couple of days later the sister had bad news. “Their head of department does not want to lend us the machine” she said. I called the XXX OT. The sister took the phone. “Sister, good morning” I said “I am the head of Ob Gyn.” “Good morning” She said. “Sister, how many electrocauteries do you have? I asked. “Six, four for the four OTs, and two spare ones. One of them gives an electric shock, but the other one is fine.” “Then why don’t you lend us one” I asked. “Our head of department said we will wait and see if we would need it.” “Do you remember you borrowed out brand new cardioscope for two and a half years, without which you would have had to close down the theater?” I asked. “Yes sir” she said. “Is your head of department there?” I asked. “No, she has not come in yet” she said. I should have expected it. The seniors in that department were known to arrive by 10 to 10:30 A.M., not 9:00 A.M. as required. They were probably privy to the information that the biometric attendance system was not operational yet. “Please tell her that I said she should have lent us the cautery machine to reciprocate what we did for her department and the patients seeking care in this hospital. Please tell her that I will put all this on my blog too” I said. “Yes sir” she said. I knew she would do it, from the happy note in her voice. I also knew I would still lend another piece of equipment to that department if requested in future, because it would be for the benefit of the patients coming to the hospital for healthcare, and it would have nothing to do with behavior of ungrateful people.