Increase my faith…..

We live and work in the midst of a very “low trust society”. The dominant culture of lack of trust is bound to influence all of us some time or other, if we are not careful. As I observe, I see signs of this low trust both among the community who access our caring systems and those of us who are part of the caring community.

There is the issue of trust in the health care professional. People come to us with various Medical complaints, and we can identify these people with low trust easily. They would come in asking for particular doctor or person. They will have a file full of previous treatments done. They will keep talking about this doctor or that doctor. They will say, we heard your name and we came with great faith, but the fact is, there is not much faith, this is only yet another stop in their nonstop health care shopping. Many a times, the patient is not included in the decision. It is the “Neta” of the home who is the controller of these shopping’s, and one if carefully observes realizes that, the patient is suffering in the hands of many physicians!

We had an 18 year old girl brought to us with 2 months fever and head ache, and drowsiness, with clear signs of meningitis. She has been going to various places, has got everything done except a CSF examination, which is the diagnostic test. When we suggested this, they wanted to move to Varanasi! We could clearly see that the girl is struggling and worsening, but the low trust does not allow them to take a decision on where to hand over her for a complete management! 

How do we increase their faith? Should we try at all, or just leave them to their ever ongoing shopping, but if so at what cost, is not the health of the person more valuable than the decisions the Neta’s take? What is my role in this….?

There is also the issue of lack of trust in systems of care, when systems change. I overheard one conversation recently. One who was upset with the systems in the hospital, because we had changed the same. The change was, management made it easy for all to access care equally, instead of having private clinics, where the rich could get preferential access. And this well of person had lost trust in the new system! But there are many who have lost trust because the system is not what they are used to!

How do we increase their faith? Change back systems? Or help them to see the positive aspects of changing systems? Or just ignore these people….?

But there is another aspect of faith which is also being affected by being in a “low trust society”. The faith in your own ability as a health care provider. With people around you always questioning the ability of the individual to provide the care they seem best, the health care provider, especially the younger ones starts feeling that he or she does not have what it takes to provide care for such “low trust” communities. Trained within the walls of well protected ivory towers, and left out into an open world where there is generally low trust, one starts feeling that you are not the one who should be here, you are better off in a context where people trust you.

How do we increase their faith?  How does one create systems where there is support for those who are in the front lines and are feeling pressures of dealing daily with low trust communities? How do you create high trust communities in the midst of the majority low trust community, which becomes a support to these front end workers? And such communities role modelling a different way to live as a community. Issues to grapple with…

In the midst of all these issues, how do we use these systems to increase faith, not in the individuals, the systems or the communities but in the one who is the healer? Curing happens, when there is faith in the health care provider, health care system and the health care community! But healing happens when there is faith in the healer! How do we use curing systems to increase faith in the healer, the primary purpose for which health care systems were once established….whether it be the seeker of health or the provider of health care….