Read the following scenario and answer the THREE questions that follow.
KindCare hospital, located in the small industrial town of Chinar, is one of the largest hospitals within 50-kilometers radius. It is well-regarded among the locals for emergency services. However, for critical surgeries, they prefer to travel to the nearest city Shamili, which is 100 kilometers away. When KindCare was established 50 years ago, the town was still in its early stages of development. Consequently, the hospital needed to incorporate several facilities within its premises, including a 24-hour cafeteria, to accommodate needs of the patients and their relatives who would come from nearby places. Another facility that KindCare built and takes pride in is its state-of-the-art testing lab. It is the most sought-after testing lab in Chinar even today when many independent labs have come up around KindCare. Moreover, many other facilities have also come up in the surrounding area of the hospital such as pharmacies, food joints, hotels etc. Further, a standalone pharmacy chain has gained a strong foothold in Chinar as they expand their reach into Tier-3 cities. When it comes to KindCare, a significant proportion of its patients are outpatients with a substantial number seeking emergency services. As the sole 600-bed hospital in the region, KindCare plays a crucial role in medical services, and receives generous funding from two major corporations operating locally, further enabling KindCare to cater to the growing medical needs of the community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, KindCare made significant investment in enhancing internet connectivity, enabling many doctors, and the majority of administrative staff, to seamlessly work remotely. This investment also allowed KindCare to bring in doctors from other cities through remote care. Further, COVID-19 was a wakeup call for KindCare to enhance their infrastructure. Though KindCare made significant improvements, they kept the major renovations on hold due to the constant flow of patients. KindCare believes that if the held renovations are not taken up on an urgent basis now, the operations at the hospital will get obstructed.
Q9
Decision Making MULTIPLE CHOICE
KindCare Hospital has to renovate its storage unit, given the complexity of the medicines and the need to store other critical supplies. The renovation is supposed to take seven days. However, as the work starts, the team entrusted with the work realizes that the work will take more than 15 days. KindCare feels that even this revised estimate is modest. Already the outpatient services are affected, and people visiting the hospital are being turned away. Stretching it further will attract a strong public resentment.
Which of the following actions offers the MOST sustainable solution for KindCare to reduce the number of patients being turned away?
Answer: E
Criterion: patients are already being turned away. The renovation estimate has grown from 7 to over 15 days, and even that looks optimistic. The question asks for the most sustainable way to cut the number of patients turned away. The best option ends the disruption quickly and with certainty, without giving up the needed renovation.
Why option 5 is best: a reputed team that guarantees completion in three days removes the cause of the turn-aways almost at once. The renovation still gets done, and the hospital is well funded by two corporations, so the triple cost is affordable. A guaranteed short timeline also protects against public anger.
Option 1: sending critical patients 100 km to Shamili does not stop patients being turned away locally. It also hurts KindCare's role and reputation.
Option 2: stopping the work just postpones the problem. The passage says operations will be obstructed if the renovation is not done urgently.
Option 3: running from scattered rented spaces is costly, hard to coordinate, and only a partial fix.
Option 4: hiring experts to "find ways" to speed up gives no certain timeline. Reduced operations would still turn patients away in the meantime.
