Grassroots level corona warriors allege negligence by health dept

Corona warriors, working in the grassroots level day and night to fight Covid-19 pandemic, are expressing fear and feel that they are denied minimum care, even during emergencies.

A few instances recently have pushed the workers into fear. An employee of a Gram Panchayat, also a corona warrior, was made to wait a whole night to get admission at a hospital, due to unavailability of beds. Besides, the death of a police constable has instilled fear among the workers.

It has to be noted that 55-year-old K Basavaradhya, a second division accounts assistant working at Jayapura Gram Panchayat, was made to wait from midnight to early morning a few days back to get admission at the Covid Hospital.

Basavaradhya, a diabetic, tested positive for Covid a week ago and was isolated at a Covid Care Centre at H D Kote. However, the health professionals decided to shift him to Mysuru as his sugar level was high. He was brought to Mysuru in an ambulance.

“First, he was taken to Vikram Hospital and the authorities denied admission, claiming that there were no beds. Later, he was taken to the district hospital or Covid Hospital, but there too, he was not admitted till morning. The ambulance returned after dropping him at the district hospital and he was all alone,” said one of his colleagues.

According to the family members of Basavaradhya, he was taken to Mysuru at 12 midnight in an ambulance. But, no hospital admitted him till morning. He was alone for a few hours. Later, his son reached the hospital. However, Mysuru Taluk Panchayat Executive Officer Krishna Kumar managed to get his admission.

It may be recalled that a police constable of Nanjangud died while being shifted to the hospital. It was alleged that there was a delay in shifting him to hospital, due to non-availability of beds in Mysuru.

A colleague of Basavaradhya said, “We are grassroots level workers. It is the responsibility of the higher-ups to ensure our safety. Basavaradhya called me and told me about the issue. Later, the issue was taken to the EO, who did the needful.”

An Asha worker said, “Grassroot level workers are neglected by the departments. We are working round-the-clock. But, we are neglected during emergencies. The Health department must give us at least minimum attention.”

District Health Officer (DHO) was not available for a comment. Another health officer denied the allegations and assured of taking measures, if there was any issue.