VIJAYAWADA: Kanchikacherla police and revenue officials on Friday bore the expenses of admitting a homeless person to the Vijayawada Government Hospital after a duty doctor at the local area hospital refused treatment to the man. According to sub-inspector (SI) D Sandeep, police received a phone call from locals of Arundathi Colony around 9 am informing them about Paramesh lying unconscious near a drain.
Constable Siva rushed to the spot and took the man from Odisha to the area hospital. Much to the constable’s shock, a duty doctor refused to treat the patient and suggested that he be taken to another hospital. After SI Sandeep made a hue and cry about the matter, the doctor administered first aid to Paramesh and referred him to Vijayawada Government Hospital.
“When our constable took the injured to the hospital, staffers there did not even give a stretcher to take him inside. The doctor cited various reasons to avoid giving treatment to the homeless person. It was only after we demanded a letter citing why she could not treat Paramesh that she finally relented,” SI Sandeep said.
The hospital’s staffers did not even arrange an ambulance to shift Paramesh to Vijayawada GH.
“Tehsildar Padmaja and the police arranged a private ambulance and admitted him to the hospital,” the SI added. The collector has issued a memo to the doctor. “It’s her responsibility to treat patients equally. She did not allow the constable carrying Paramesh inside the hospital. As a doctor, she has to attend to every person who comes to the hospital,” the tehsildar said.