“If it bothers you, make time and fix it.” I have developed some life principles and values that guide my decision making, and they help me progress. This is one of them. In the past, I would try to ignore some problems or obligations as if by some miracle they would disappear.
They never.
Instead, would slowly escalate into bigger problems.
And by the time of addressing them, they would have grown into big challenges. If you have a toothache, go and see a dentist immediately. You don’t gain anything by trying to dilly dally by playing the ‘wait and see’ game. Such games of waiting and seeing could become catastrophic. Indeed, professional medical doctors advise of on-going health checks to anticipate challenges or detect health problems in time when they are still in their early days and fix them before they get out of hand.
I have been so busy taking my youngest boy for circumcision.
It is a recommended procedure for the boy child these days for health reasons. Aunties also recommend it too. Indeed, the ladies married to circumcised men know the secret (pun intended)– it is a good thing.
Work has been hectic. I have been postponing the procedure since December 2020. Procrastinators usually have reasons that appear genuine. At first, it was the election. “Let’s wait for the elections to be done.” Then it was a project. “Let’s first conclude the client project.” Then it was “let’s first make an appointment with the surgeon.” Twice, we tried making an appointment with a surgeon at one of the private hospitals in vain. Two day’s ago, we were given an appointment in April 2021! And we were asked to prepare about Ugx. 500,000 for the procedure. The fee sounded suspicious to me.
I thought the procedure is a very simple one. And should therefore be affordable by many. But Ugx. 500,000 was on the higher side, and I was right.
Yesterday on 18th March 2021, I told my wife, “Kibuli Hospital should be the best hospital for that procedure.” She immediately went to work. She searched online and found a telephone number which she called and made an enquiry about the procedure. And they were clear: we are open, Monday to Saturday, 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Come in at any hour during that time, and you will be worked on. Plan to spend 2 hours maximum at the hospital. Bring along with Ugx. 150,000 and the child.
The operation at Kibuli Hospital
Today, we decided to get the circumcision issue off the table. We dedicated the day to address the issue. By 9:00 am, we set off from home to Kibuli. Before Coronavirus, I have not been involved a lot in many of my children’s moments like sports days, hospital visits, school visitations as I should. I decided to get involved.
We arrived at Kibuli Hospital at about 10 am. And by 11:10 am, everything had been concluded and we were discharged. I have never seen a hospital with fast turn around processes like this in Kampala. Keep in mind the first hospital had told us to prepare to spend a night there!
Whether we were lucky to visit Kibuli Hospital on a day with low traffic or not, I give it to the leadership of the hospital for efficient process flows and triage setting with fast processing in mind. Key offices are located next to each other. And there is no time wastage traps where they refer you to an office and find it is closed!
For a circumcision operation, you are directed to the cashier directly.
From there, the receptionist helps you complete some forms and then you are asked to take the child to the surgery room, on the third floor of an adjacent building. You spend a maximum of 30 minutes there and everything is done. Of course, you will hear the child cry, as the operation goes on. I took it as a right of passage to maturity!
After the operation, we were asked to return to the cashier. Again, the process was swift. We received the medication and were asked to present the child to have some pain killers administered. Everything was done so fast that by the time I came from the urinals, my wife was waiting for me. These people know what they are doing that even the pharmacist could not give me the child’s drugs insisting to bring the mother of the baby, whom he gave the drugs and the dosage instructions. I loved that. We men are always absent-minded on the phone, thinking about business, that could easily overdose the child.
I use this opportunity to thank the team at Kibuli hospital for professionalism and quality service. I have not yet tried other services nor gone through the experiences other clients may have gone through but based on my first-time experience with circumcising a child, I found the process very fast and clear. Keep it up.
If you want to circumcise a child, don’t bother looking elsewhere. Go to Kibuli Hospital. You will thank me later.
Copyright Mustapha B Mugisa, Mr Strategy 2021. All rights reserved.
