How The Clinic Runs
Mid-morning is the busiest time at the clinic. Women wearing colourful saris and shalwar-kameez, or the more sombre burkhas, numerous children and men of differing ages and backgrounds mingle together, quickly filling up the four main waiting areas. The gas hasn’t been able to mold the disposition of the people affected. Without exception, visitors wait calmly and respectfully, talking quietly with each other or swapping jokes and stories with the clinic staff. Sometimes small gifts are brought in as expressions of gratitude. By their conduct, visitors reveal a sense of the clinic existing for them. And the vast majority of newcomers to Sambhavna arrive on the recommendation of those already attending.
Collective decision-making and individual responsibility taking distinguishes the particular the style of working at the clinic. The highest staff salary is not more than three times the lowest, and opportunities for improving skills are offered to all in equal measures. The staff bring a broad range of age, experience and educational qualifications to the collective efforts.
There is no formal hierarchy of jobs at Sambhavna; every member of staff is free to give suggestions on every aspect of the clinic’s work; meaning, for example, that the healthworkers contribute as much to the evolution of appropriate medical care as do the doctors.
‘Knowing that we can apply our ideas gives us more confidence, develops our thinking and makes us more willing to take on responsibility. Because we have to make workplans for staff meetings, because managerial skills are developed on a rotation basis, it means everybody has to take responsibility for themselves and everybody else.’ Staff member
Consensus is arrived at in weekly meetings, where the typical quiet and calm of the clinic can occasionally be shaken. The meetings determine the day-to-day and longterm activities of the clinic.
