Ranjeetha

We had our baby girl on Dec 1st, 2015. In case you forget that, please google heaviest rainfall in 40 years in Chennai or something like that.

Dec 2nd was the day Chennai got flooded completely, and we were frightfully thankful in what was then the safest place in KK Nagar. My wife, the newborn girl, wife’s mother and I were marooned in the hospital for 6 days and I was mighty impressed by how KM Hospital handled the whole crisis.

To begin with, we at KM Hospital had electricity for another 2+ days post Dec 1st, when the rest of the city did not have the luxury. By some genius intervention or divine grace, KM Hospital had managed to stockpile a supply of Diesel and was able to run the generator throughout. The canteen gave some kind of food to each room each day, which given the circumstances was immense. We even got black tea and black coffee for two days as the canteen had run out of milk. The nurses were worried about their families, the ayyahs who were predominantly from the MGR Nagar market had lost all they had, but they all soldiered on. The rains made everyone a little bit scared, but no one panicked. The nursing team, especially Jagadeshwari sister and Kokila sister always wore a smile and went about their long sessions without grumbling. The Pharmacist could not go home so spent 80+ hours at a stretch at the hospital. There were many such stories that probably still remain to be told about how the hospital managed to grit out the first week of December.

The doctor team was also awesome. Due to the rains, all the doctors could not visit the premises on all days. So, one day the pediatrician saw the baby and the mother, and the subsequent day the gynecologist saw the mother and baby. Doctor Lakshmi Priya has the ability to reassure a patient merely by calmly listening to everything. Doctor Albert and Doctor Manimozhiyan are ever-smiling ever pleasant paediatricians who have the ability to convince you that everything is fine with your baby no matter what. Doctor Naveen takes the effort to explain processes in slightly more detail.

This was the team of Doctors at the hospital. Our Ob-gyn is Dr. Priya Kalyani who is always a picture of calm. She is unhurried and does everything with a degree of comfort that is very reassuring when you have someone writhing on the delivery table. We had been visiting her since the first trimester and had a sense of what to expect from her. We knew we were in good hands months before the delivery.

All told, even though we spent 6 days in the hospital (thanks partly to the weather) and were ready to rip someone apart just to leave the damn place, we have fond memories of the week that we spent there. Of course our experience is coloured by the fact that we came out with a bundle of joy that continues to drive us mad with her late night sessions. But I guess that is part of the deal.

Goes without saying that KM Hospital can also improve in some aspects. They can do way more to streamline their appointment handling processes and to improve their front desk.

The other thing KM Hospital can possibly look at is on the provision of slightly more non-medical inputs to pregnant mothers. 25 years ago, we had the old ladies who gave inputs (frequently wrong, but reassuring nevertheless). Now, the west has forums, midwives, support groups etc. Few of India’s younger parents have been caught out in between – the trust in the old ladies is depleted as some of their wisdom has been proven to be flawed. India does not yet have viable groups online to help young mothers out. Since this was our second child, we probably did not feel the pinch. But I can imagine a lot of young couples feeling a little lost in India. It would be great if KM Hospital could address this gap also.

These are mere quibbles. The basic ingredients are there. And the key people have their heart in the right place. My best wishes to the team at KM Hospital.