BENGALURU: Covid positive patients are struggling to get beds and some are even dying. But this shortage is not because of scarcity, but because of the corrupt system, revealed an investigation by elected representatives in Bengaluru.
Normally, a person is allocated a bed by default if she/he tests positive. Unscrupulous elements in the State Covid War Room are allegedly blocking beds for those who can pay high amounts of money and directing them to hospitals with vacant beds. These operators at the war room book multiple beds in the name of asymptomatic patients but do not inform them.
Once the operator gets a call, he changes the name manually as he is allowed to, and allocates the bed. He escapes scrutiny as the software that lists Covid positive patients and the other that lists those in need of beds are not linked. The person in whose name the bed is booked is left in the lurch when she/he reaches the hospital, while the one who pays the money gets the bed.
The scam was unearthed by former corporator Satish Reddy, MLA Uday Garudachar and MP Tejasvi Surya when they visited the south zone war room. They submitted a report to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta, demanding the immediate suspension of all erring and unprofessional officials and operators.
The report points out that the beds are allocated only between midnight and 2.30 a.m., while none during the day. It states that exactly at midnight, bed availability is opened, at 12.01 a.m. a bed is vacant and 12.02 a.m. the same bed is occupied. In the last 10 days, over 4,000 complaints of lack of beds have been reported and some patients have even died waiting for beds.
“The task of data entry has been handed over to an agency. The agents are also giving beds to those who they know. It is not just in the south zone, but entire Bengaluru. When the bed is auto-blocked, the patient is not informed. There is no clarity as to who is admitted to which hospital and when. Every day, patients are getting discharged, some are even dying, but still there are no beds in Bengaluru. This is because some medical health officers, zonal officials, tele-callers, operators and even officials are playing mischief,” Reddy said.
South Zone Commissioner Thulasi Maddineni said the issue will be probed and the BBMP Chief Commissioner will take necessary action. “Last week, an alert citizen and a patient shared details of a person demanding money. The investigation revealed that the man was not with the BBMP. An FIR was registered and he was arrested. Even in the present case, the inquiry can be conducted as there is a system in place and data logs are available,” she said.
Will order an investigation immediately, says BSY
Promising that an investigation will be ordered into allegations of a scam in the BBMP bed allocation system by his own party leaders, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said anyone involved will be punished. Responding to media queries over allegations of a officials-middlemen nexus in bed allocation under BBMP by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya, Basavangudi MLA Ravi Subramanya, Chikpete MLA Uday Garudachar and Bommanahalli MLA Satish Reddy, Yediyurappa said whoever is guilty will not be spared.