Hospital sentence

Question

Please proofread and correct:During the current slow market, Dr. Wu has reluctantly come  up with a new demand  for bedside cabinets and overbed tables.  Is this sentence natural and grammatically correct?Thank you very much.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

It's natural and grammatical, but without prior context, the meaning is ambiguous. Has Dr. Wu made this demand before? In what sense is the demand "new"?
Is the slow market the reason for the demand or the reason for his reluctance?

The use of "come up" has a negative connotation. Do you wish to imply that he should not have done this?
If he is reluctant, "come up" seems like a bad choice.

PreciousJones · Answer

I, too, find reluctantly come up as a very awkward string of words...

any other suggestions?

Avangi · Answer

During the current slow market, Dr. Wu has reluctantly come up with a new demand for bedside cabinets and overbed tables.

Hi, PJ,
It's not exactly that series of words as a collocation that bothers me, so much as my failure to feel comfortable with my understanding of the picture.

Who is Dr. Wu? Is he the director of some particular department of a large/small hospital?

These two items seem rather low on the scale of amenities essential for the saving of lives.

Exactly what market is slow? People are not getting sick anymore?
The economy is bad, so people cannot pay their bills, and the hospital cannot pay its staff?
So there's no money to be "wasted" on furniture?

Who is the speaker? - the author of this statement?
Does he support Dr.Wu's position in this matter? Or does he feel that Dr. Wu is wrong?

Usually when you use strong language like "come up with a new demand," you mean to complain that the demand is unreasonable under the circumstances, and that the person making the demand should be censured.

But by using the term "reluctantly," he's expressing sympathy for Dr. Wu.
He seems to feel that Dr. Wu would not make these requests in these dire circumstances unless they were absolutely necessary.

Anyway, if Dr. Wu truly understands the bad situation the hospital is in, and he still is requesting this equipment, then surely the speaker must have a position of either being for Dr. Wu, or against him.
If he's for him, he shouldn't accuse him of making demands.
If he's against him, he shouldn't give Dr.Wu credit for being so reluctant.

So what the heck is going on here? I'm totally confused!

Hospital sentence

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