Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, May 4: BJP leader and Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya on May 4 informed that there is widespread corruption in the allocation of Covid-19 beds, which is an embarrassment for the BJP-ruled state. He called it 'dishonourable and an unholy nexus' of representatives of zonal helplines, BBMP officials and hospitals, who have reportedly created an artificial scarcity of beds.
Speaking on the issue, he said, “Getting a bed for a Covid-19 patient is a herculean task. The portal that displays the availability of beds always shows that the beds are occupied.”
An investigation by Surya's team revealed that some Arogya Mitras deputed in private hospitals, BBMP helpline and bed booking system in charges, as well as certain private hospitals, have created artificial scarcity by adopting questionable methods and thereby denying deserving patients much-needed hospital care.
He claimed that there are over 4000 such instances where the BBMP in charge books the bed in the name of an asymptomatic patient as soon as he or she is informed of a vacant bed. “Thereafter, the same bed is again allotted to another patient after a few hours - either based on monetary considerations or influence by authorities in other cases. The common man calling the helpline is left helpless,” he said.
"In other instances, a large number of patients are curiously admitted mainly after midnight in certain reputed hospitals. For them, the allotment and admission take place in a matter of a few seconds which was realistically impossible," he added.
“How is it that a common man is made to run pillar to post to find one hospital bed for his family member? Are there really no hospital beds available for an entire day for patients? When each of the zones and the 108 helpline are producing daily reports of an average of 100 bookings done per day, who are the patients being admitted to hospitals and given COVID-19 treatment?” the MP questioned.
Tejasvi alleged another curious concept of beds being wasted as those beds are auto unblocked after a patient does not turn up in the hospital, 12 hours after the bed is booked. He cited 16 such instances and pointed out that “a more deserving patient is denied a hospital bed for a person who is not even interested in getting admitted”.