Breathless Covid-19 patient spends 24 hrs searching for hospital bed

A man diagnosed with Covid-19 was pushed to the brink on Saturday night in an incident that revealed the failure of the system to care for the Coronavirus-infected.

The 36-year-old autorickshaw driver from Banashankari exhibited breathlessness, a late-stage symptom, but was refused admission at Covid treatment facilities for several hours.

An ambulance dumped him at 1 am Sunday morning at a Covid Care Centre (CCC) that ran out of beds, leaving the man struggling to find treatment for the next 24 hours. Another Palike ambulance dropped him at Vani Vilas Hospital at 10 am, with the BBMP making no attempt to register him.

“Eight hours passed before the hospital staff were finally told about him,” said Dr Smitha Segu, nodal officer, Covid-19, BMCRI. She added that the patient was put on oxygen at 5 pm, but that his prognosis was unclear.

These events transpired hours after the Department of Health and Family Welfare (DOHFW) issued a circular on June 4, which announced that the 108 Ambulance service had been deployed to transport Covid-19 patients in distress, especially if they have breathing distress.

“The case is emblematic of the total failure of the system at multiple levels,” said the patient’s brother, Akmal Ameen (43).

The patient (P 22045) first developed symptoms of the disease on July 1. Tested the following day, he was told on July 4 by Victoria Hospital that he was Covid positive. However, he was unable to find admittance at several private hospitals.

A BBMP ambulance which picked him up that evening spent several hours ferrying him to various hospitals and is alleged to have dumped him at the CCC in the Haj Bhavan at 1 am on Sunday, having run out of options.

“There, the CCC refused to admit him,” said Rida (name changed), a social worker who was informed about the case at 1.15 am. When the 108 Ambulance was contacted, the service refused to take responsibility for the patient and put the onus on the BBMP, Rida added.

Randeep D, Special Commissioner, BBMP, who is in-charge of the ambulance services, acknowledged that the protocol had failed. “The ambulance should have informed the district nodal officer. This officer has the authority to redirect the patient to another hospital with a bed. They just cannot leave the patient,” he said.

A call to the official 1912 grievance redressal helpline also did not yield results, Rida said. On Tuesday, medical staff at BMCRI said the patient has been taken off oxygen and is stable now.

'Was helped via Facebook'

On Sunday, DH was also informed of a 28-year-old accountant from Murugeshpalya who was unable to secure timely hospitalisation. The patient tested positive on Friday.

"I tried all the helplines, but none of them worked. I didn't know what to do. In the end, after word got out on Facebook, I was told that a media person had informed health officials about my plight," he told DH as he travelled to a Covid Care Centre set up at GKVK.

The patient said he had symptoms of a dry cough and a cold since Friday.