Hewlett

After reading a story of Hewlett-Packard recently, I learn that we may lose our trust without even noticing it. Trust is the easiest to lose and the hardest to survive without.

The story goes that its cofounder William Bill Hewlett stopped off one weekend at a company storeroom to pick up a tool, only to find that there was a lock on the tool bin. This was, as a matter of fact, contrary to the explicit practice the Hewlett-Packard company had established from the very beginning to keep all parts bins and storerooms open so that HP employees would have free access to any tools they might need.

Much to his chagrin, Hewlett broke the lock open and threw it away, and put up a sign where the lock had been. The sign read: HP TRUSTS IT'S EMPLOYEES.

At the same time, I had a real-life story nagging at me, one that I get frustrated for the umpteenth time.

Can you imagine the very first thing I need to do before starting my specialist outpatient clinic session in my own institution? To help you set the scene in your mind's eye, I should tell you that doctors can't enter the clinic through the front door because it is simply locked. Utter the word "lock" and the mind envisages a stoic and nitpicky boss who keeps everything locked up. Each morning we doctors need to fetch the key and unlock the drawer keeping all the ophthalmoscope, tuning fork and tendon hammer – all locked up! The more the things are being locked up, the madder I got. Normally, I hate using exclamation marks, but boy, am I mad!

Years ago, the name and title of the doctors were being displayed outside the clinic door. If you come to see us at the clinic, the name of the doctor whom you're going to see will be missing. Where is it?

Locked up. Again.

If you ask me who would be the one keen on hiding one's name and maintaining the highest standard of anonymity, that guy should be the least trustworthy. Whether our clinic nurse-in-charge knew it or not – and apparently she did not – her real job was to make the best lock.

While we laugh at the lock itself, we need to remember that the idea of such lock is not new. Our department policy of displaying the doctor's name next to the bed of our patients was banned just a month ago. You'll still find such matters difficult to understand. And – I will just say it – untrustworthy.