MIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi’s visit to Gandhi hospital and later his arrest on Tuesday put hundreds of patients to inconvenience as the mob surrounding the emergency block did not allow free passage for patients. As a result, many went to other hospitals.
While Akbaruddin was kept in the emergency block from 10.30 am to 5.45 pm, a crowd of more than 200 people gathered in front of the building, which has the main entrance.
Even 108 ambulance service personnel had hard time bringing in patients as the slogan-shouting crowd blocked the entrance. Police too were unable to find a way, as the crowd had swelled.
“We didn’t have any work today. Everyday, patients keep coming and we register about 1,000 patients per day. Since morning, there were hardly 50 cases registered today,” said a senior staff member at the emergency block. “I was coming from Musheerabad and the road was closed. I had no idea what to do and then the auto driver found a route through Padma Rao Nagar to reach the hospital,” said S Karthik, 25, a railway employee whose sister had met with an accident and needed immediate medical attention.
“Once the patients are in, they were tended to immediately. But their number is much small today,” said a doctor.