'Nothing to apologise for': Tejasvi Surya lists reforms in bed blocking system

The MP introduced new reforms to the bed blocking system to make it more transparent and accountable

Six days after storming the BBMP south zone war room, Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya listed out the reforms introduced in the bed allocation system and said he had nothing to apologise for with regard to the suffering borne by the 16 Muslim staffers who were suspended after he read out their names.

Surya said that over the last 100 hours, accountability has been brought into the bed allocation system which now records the name of the nodal officer or the doctor who 'blocks' a bed.

The second reform, he said, was the SMS alert sent to patients. "Earlier, a patient's detail was used as a proxy to block the bed and later allocate it to someone else. It will stop now," he said.

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The MP said, once a bed is allocated, the number of hours given for a patient to arrive at hospital has been reduced to 4 hours during which no one can unblock the bed. "There were cases of beds being blocked in the name of patients in home isolation or those who were dead or discharged. Manual unblocking will not be allowed henceforth," he said.

He said a queue system will be introduced so that patients on wait list will get the beds on priority regardless of their fiinancial and political status. He thanked chief minister B S Yediyurappa and Forest Minister Aravind Limbavali for supporting him and working with him to bring the reforms.

'Nothing to apologise for'

Surya refused to answer pointed questions by media persons on the reason for singling out the 16 persons among more than 200 staffers, beyond reiterating that he read out names from a list given by "a senior official".

"I was given a list by a senior official. I read out the names to know how they were appointed and why they were removed," he said, claiming that there was no intention to target a community. He quoted BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta to state that the 17 employees were "removed" as part of restructuring process even before he read the list, a claim dismissed by the staffers who were working in the war room even as Surya read out their name.

Last Tuesday, soon after he read the 16 names, the staffers were put on suspension along with another staffer who stood in solidarity with them. Viral social media messages branded the 16 staffers as "terrorists" denying bed to 'Hindu patients'. It was clarified by authorities the 16 were working on helpline or uploading patient data but not connected to the bed blocking facility.

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A reporter sought to know if the focus was on bed allocation, why the names were taken at all. Surya said that as a people's representative, he has the right to question their appointment.

"I have not attributed any criminal liability to the staffers. Ask BBMP why the staffers were put under suspension," he said.

To a question over the alleged involvement of MLA Satish Reddy's aide in the scam, Surya said the CCB police were investigating the issue and they should answer the question.
When asked why the Muslim staffers were taken to the police station twice, the MP said he doesn't want to his attention to be diverted from bed allocation scam and ended the press conference.