𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗦𝘆𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗺𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺?

Eight months ago, I had to be hospitalized (all good now, no worries!). But the real ordeal? Waiting 4-5 hours just to get a bed. Imagine that!

Critical patients were being managed in emergency beds because there simply weren’t enough regular ones available.

I have a friend who’s a senior doctor there—lucky me, right? I asked if he could help speed things up. He checked in, made a few calls… and yet, the wait remained just as long.

Later, during my stay, he dropped by for a chat. We spoke about everything—from life to work—and, of course, the hospital’s big plan to fix the issue. More beds, a bigger emergency area, more staff. Basically, the classic “Just add more” approach!

Sounds great, right? But then came discharge day. The doctor gave the green light at 11 AM. I actually got out of the hospital by 5 PM.

Six hours… just to leave. And this was with my wife stepping in as the unofficial expeditor—chasing nurses, hounding billing, and making frantic calls.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 - Number of Beds or the Discharge Process? If the discharge process was streamlined, fewer beds would be blocked, and wait times would drop.

But instead of fixing that first, the hospital was adding more beds to accommodate the delay!

I have seen this happening many times, "Adding more" to coverup for existing inefficiencies. 

Governments build more roads instead of fixing traffic management.

𝗪𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲—𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.