Health is wealth, is a phrase that does not make much sense until one has all the money in the world and cannot spend it to enjoy themselves simply because they have health issues. Take for instance a billionaire who cannot eat their favourite food or snack because they are diabetic. Therefore, when you or a person close to you is in the hospital for whatever reason, we do our best and keep our hopes up that the medics and every other person involved is going to do their best. Sometimes people hear or read about families who lost a loved one due to negligence, or system failures especially during surgeries, whether planned or emergency. It does not really hit them hard enough until they experience it first-hand.

An article by TG Hwang sought to point out the effects of changing the layout plan of a hospital as well as implementing a critical pathway on the performance of emergency room operations. This article mainly focused on patients suffering from acute cerebral infarctions. This is a type of stroke that results from a blood vessel in the brain being blocked. An area in the brain has dead cells due to lack of enough blood. In all cases of this disease, their recovery or even chances of surviving depends entirely on how soon a diagnosis is made and treatment started.

For better results of the research, different hospitals adopted one of the approaches each. Guro hospital in Korea took the structure-oriented while Anam hospital opted for the implementation of the critical pathway as well as protocols. Before implementing the changes, the researchers recorded the existing data on hospital charges, time interval as well as the time of stay. This was for the purposes of comparison with the data after the implementation of the changes.

In the end, both approaches seemed efficient, with the implementation of a critical pathway taking the lead, although slightly. Therefore, for any operation of the emergency room to be performed without delay, a few things must be worked on. In order to save lives, the approach concerning the adjustment in the layout must be considered. The emergency room for operations must be located in a place where it is easily accessible and with total efficiency. Doctors must be in a place to respond to emergency calls in case they are needed to perform operations.

In the case of implementing a critical pathway, each hospital must have clear-cut rules on when to accord special attention to patients. For example, a patient scheduled for an elective c section cannot be given priority over a patient with a stroke and in dire need of an operation. Apart from the rules, the staff needs training on how to respond immediately to such a need. This way, lives can be saved because the medical field has only one goal, to save lives and make the world a better place.

On the side of the caregivers to the patients, they require faith in the professionals as well as patients. Much as the medics need to do their jobs, they are human too and need to work with a clear head and under no pressure. The patients too need to play a role by staying calm and following instructions to the latter. Apart from the disease, someone is suffering from, the human brain could be an enemy of progress. A patient may fail to follow instructions due to religious beliefs or any other reason. In my opinion, if everyone plays their card well and at the right time, more lives will be saved by the day. Everyone will go home happy.