District Hospital’s laxity draws criticism
Rescue efforts go off track as Chikkaballapur Hospital ambulances lie idle and unavailable when needed
The District Hospital, already struggling for want of enough staff and facilities, is again in trouble.
The Hospital staff had to go through a difficult time on Monday to provide ambulance service and first aid to school children who were injured in a school bus accident at Marasanahalli on the outskirts of the city.
The staff also had to face the ire of the local people for the delay in shifting the injured children to hospital.
Often off the road
The District Hospital has a total of five ambulances. But only one of them is in good condition and was used at the time of the accident.
Ambulances had to be brought from private hospitals to tide over the crisis on Monday.
Public anger
Leaders of several organisations expressed dissatisfaction about the situation and even took the doctors and medical staff to task on the premises of the District Hospital.
“We have been requesting for years that the ambulances which have broken down be repaired and the functioning of the Hospital be streamlined. However, they have taken no steps in this direction.
“We had a tough time shifting the injured school children from the accident spot to the Hospital and providing them medical aid,” the people complained.
“Nobody is taking the initiative to repair the ambulances on the Hospital premises. If the ambulances, which are meant for use in emergencies, are not repaired, how can we shift the patients to the Hospital?” they asked.
Facilities promised
P Vasanth Kumar, the assistant commissioner, later visited the District Hospital and inspected the facilities. Speaking to leaders of the organisations, he said, “Measures will soon be taken to solve the problems faced by the hospital. For now, the new ambulance facility available at Batlahalli in Chintamani will be used. In the coming days, a proposal will be sent to the government and the problems in the hospital will be addressed,” he told the people.
Dalit Sangharsha Samiti leaders B N Gangadhara and Sudha Venkatesh, social activists Mahakali Babu, Chikkagaraga Reddy, Dr K P Srinivasamurthy, District Hospital surgeon Dr B V Manjunath, District Health Officer Dr B N Byrareddy, hospital administrative board member P Srinivas and others were present.
