SACRIFICIAL SATURDAY
A patient in a hospital – lying on the bed – accidentally knocked over a cup of water, kept on the side-table…
… which spilled on the floor, beside the bed.
>> The patient was afraid he might slip on the water if he got out of the bed, so he asked a nurse’s aide to mop it up.
The patient however, didn’t know it; but the hospital policy said that…
… small spills were the responsibility of the nurse’s aides
… while large spills were to be mopped up by the hospital’s housekeeping group.
The nurse’s aide decided the spill was a large one…
… and she called the housekeeping department.
>> A housekeeper arrived and declared the spill to be a small one.
An argument followed.
“It’s not my responsibility,” said the nurse’s aide, “because it’s a large puddle.”
>> The housekeeper did not agree. “Well, it’s not mine,” she said, “the spill of water is too small.”