BENGALURU: Even as the State Government is going about setting up dedicated helplines and a centralized bed allocation system for COVID-19 patients, shocking cases of Covid-19 patients being dumped by the roadside and calls being ignored by ambulance services are being reported from the city.
On Saturday night, a 36-year-old patient was dropped off by the ambulance staff in front of Haj Bhavan where he was left stranded from midnight till 2.30 am after Victoria Hospital refused to admit him. He was finally admitted at 8 am but given a bed only at 5 pm on Sunday.
In another incident, a 29-year-old accountant from Murugeshpalya, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday, had to wait till Sunday evening for an ambulance to pick him up — that too after TNIE alerted the health officials of his plight.
Medical Education Minister Dr. K Sudhakar on Sunday warned of strict legal action against hospitals and said criminal cases will be registered against them for refusing to admit and treat Covid-19 patients. The country’s largest COVID care centre was also opened at BIEC with 1,100 beds for asymptomatic patients.
Ironically, a video of the managing director of a private hospital in the city, in which he is seen saying that his hospital has all facilities but no doctors, went viral on Sunday.
After Jayanagar Congress MLA Soumya Reddy took to Twitter to narrate her harrowing experience of trying to get a critical patient admitted to a hospital, Sudhakar also paid surprise visits to two hospitals.
Last week, at least three people had died in the city after being denied admission in different hospitals. In Hanuman- thanagar, the body of a patient lay drenched in the rain till the ambulance turned up three hours later. On Saturday, the body of a Covid-19 victim was found dumped at a bus stop in Rane-bennur, Haveri district.