BENGALURU: “Everyone’s scared in our slum, and there is no healthcare facility that we can access. There is death every day,” says Jansi Rani. In Cheluvadipalya (ward 138), where she lives, she saw three deaths on Wednesday. And she does not know if they were Covid-19 related.
She says they are not able to access local clinics that are shut, or even the hospital nearby which claims it is meant for Covid-19 treatment alone. The Slum Women’s Association recently wrote to the government, seeking basic treatment to children, women and senior citizens. They fear that Covid-19 and other viral diseases may put their lives at risk as some eight to 10 members of a family live crammed in a 10*10 room. They have sought immediate intervention of the government in providing them adequate care.
In the letter, they said that government hospitals were not educating the women enough on postnatal care of the mother and child. Their other demands include ensuring proper functioning of PHCs and private treatment centres treat all patients, irrespective of their background, for common diseases such as fever, cold and cough among others.
They also demanded continuous supply of generic medicines in dedicated outlets. Special care for pregnant women in government as well as private hospitals, operation of mobile health clinics in slums, supply of nutritious food at affordable prices for slum residents were among their other demands.
“We have long since lost faith in the public healthcare system, and used to visit small private clinics for minor illnesses. But these clinics closed ever since the number of cases rose in June,” they say,” Malarvizhi, program officer, at an NGO Actionaid, told TNIE.