BENGALURU: It is a reverse trend of sorts. With the number of Covid cases rising in Bengaluru, many from the city are rushing to nearby district centres to find beds, over the last few days. Officials in Bengaluru are struggling to meet the demand for beds, ICUs, Remdesivir and even ambulances. The panic situation has triggered an exodus from the city with thousands of people seeking help on social media -- both Twitter and Facebook. Many of them are looking at nearest district locations, like Kolar, Ramanagar, Chikkaballapura, Mandya, Mysuru and Hassan, where there are lesser number of cases as compared to Bengaluru.
The Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), located at Bellur Cross near Nagamangala of Mandya district, has 250 beds, including 50 ICU beds. As it is located just 100 km from the city and takes around one-and-a-half hours to reach by ambulance, a lot of Bengalureans are rushing there. BK Umesh, registrar and finance officer of AIMS, said that over the last three days, many from Bengaluru have gone there to get themselves admitted.
“But we have people from Mandya and Hassan, for whom the hospital is closer. We need to give them priority and we have decided to admit them first,” he said. Mahesh Gowda (name changed), who hails from Mandya and tested positive in Bengaluru where he works, got himself admitted at a Mandya hospital as he could not find a bed at Rajarajeshwari Nagar, where he resides. Not long ago, people from other districts would come to Bengaluru for better medical facilities.
But with the uncontrolled Covid second wave, all that has changed. Sources at the Ramanagar deputy commissioner’s office said that in the last one week, many from Bengaluru are going there to get themselves admitted in private and government hospitals. “We cannot restrict them as it is an emergency,” they said. People are even contacting district in-charge ministers to refer patients to hospitals at their districts. With this, local officials are under pressure as they have to give preference to locals first.
An official pointed out that a patient from South Bengaluru takes over an hour to reach Marathahalli or Yelahanka. At the same time, she/he can reach another district. Hospitals in other districts cannot deny admission to patients from Bengaluru as there are no clear guidelines on this, the official added.