Media Release
Kasargod, Apr 1: We all know that the country is on a 21-day lockdown in an attempt to control the spread of COVID-19 which has resulted in the death of 42,387 people and infected more than 8,00,000 people worldwide so far.
As this virus continues to spread havoc in almost all the countries of the world, governments had to resort to hard-hitting measures like lockdowns. The brunt of this lockdown has been felt the most by the marginalized sections of society and the people suffering from major illnesses.
As a result of the closure of the Karnataka–Kerala border, the patients coming to hospitals in Mangaluru from Kasargod have been hit very badly. Even patients coming by ambulance have been turned back resulting in tremendous hardships to many patients.
Due to the free medical facility and affordable treatment under various schemes provided at the Yenepoya Medical College Hospital, a large number of patients from across the border visit the hospital daily. Among them, more than 100 patients come for treatment of only kidney-related issues. The sudden closing of the borders came as a shocker to these people mostly with BPL cards who used to come to the hospital for dialysis.
To alleviate their suffering in these trying times, the hospital decided to shift five of the dialysis machines to KIMS Sunrise Hospital in Kasargod where the patients could be treated. With the initiative taken by the MLA, N A Nellikunnu, this was made possible. At this hour of need, five of the staff, hailing from Kasargod, who completed BSc Dialysis Technology in Yenepoya Medical College volunteered their support at the hospital in Kasargod. At a time when people are locking themselves up inside the safety of their homes, Shifa, Akhil, Mufeeda, Gopika and Afra showed that they are real heroes by coming forward to help the patients in whatever way they can. The whole exercise for the Yenepoya Hospital was coordinated by Mohammad Sabith, Assistant Hospital Operations Officer with the support of the dialysis team and bio-medical department.