Emergency numbers of two govt hospitals non-functional

Medical Emergency? If you thought that the numbers displayed on the websites of two of the City’s leading government hospitals - Vani Villas and Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital would come in handy, it is time to think again.

On one hand, calls are not answered on a few numbers displayed on their official sites, and on the other, a few phone numbers are invalid.

Though a few numbers given in the official website of Vani Villas Hospital says ‘Emergency Helpline Numbers’- 080-2670 5206 and 080-2670 5204, no one answers these lines most of the times. Even as Deccan Herald tried to contact these numbers at different hours in the day, calls were not answered.

Besides, there have been complaints that calls made to the landline number of this hospital, attached to the Bangalore Medical College and Research Centre (BMCRI) that sees at least one lakh patients in its Out Patient Department each year, also go unanswered.

Despite the hospital having a list of numbers on its website, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital has none dedicated to an emergency. Out of the six plus numbers that have been displayed on the site, most are non functional.

“There is no number in case of an emergency,” was the response from the other end from the lone number that was functional on Thursday. This state-run hospital sees at least 2,000 patients in its outpatient department besides 90 casualties and 90 admissions on an average.

Sources in the hospital said that most of the times, those entrusted with the responsibility of attending calls were not at the reception desk. “It is also that they are given additional responsibilities and there is no dedicated staff for this. It is because of this reason that calls might not be answered round the clock,” the source added.
 
Minster for Medical Education Sharan Prakash Patil, when contacted regarding the issue, said that he would speak to the Director of BMCRI regarding the same. Medical superintendents of both the hospitals were unavailable for response.