Amid rising cases of COVID-19 in Bengaluru in the past fewweeks, there's another, nightmare haunting residents.?
Out of 73 ambulances in the city, merely 7 have been assigned to ferry COVID-19 patients, making people run from pillar to post to avail the emergency facility.
According to a Times of India report, Bengaluru has been reporting at least 100cases on a daily basis over the past week. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials said the shortage of vehicles is a logistical flaw, and is also contributing to the spread of the virus.
"Some people are being tested positive at privatehealth facilities but due to a shortage of ambulances, they could not be takento hospitals immediately. So, the patients end up going back to the home wherethey risk infecting other family members,Ħħ a BBMP official was quoted assaying.
Only seven of the 108 services in Bengaluru are assigned tocoronavirus patients and the city is grappling with a new wave, with 866people testing positive for the novel coronavirus, in the past week.
Time is a huge factor for those involved in emergencyservices.?A driver who works with the 108 services told TOI that it takes at least three hours to shift a positive patient from an isolation centre. Thatapart, about two hours are spent in disinfecting the vehicle after having aCOVID-19 patient onboard.
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In situations like this, many patients who are already sickare forced to find their way back home, on their own.
A COVID-19-positive patient was forcedto go back home from a private health facility and made to wait for nearly 18hours before he was taken to hospital.?"After testing positive, my uncle had to wait for threedays at home for an ambulance. When I contacted the driver, he told me that hefirst needs to confirm about bed availability," said Vasudev, a residentof Basavangudi.
"We have received hundreds of complaints about theshortage of ambulances. Many people have contacted me saying they are afflictedwith coronavirus and needed to be shifted to COVID-19 designated hospital. Itis regrettable that private hospitals are not cooperating and lending theirambulances," said Goutham Kumar, BBMP mayor.
Another TOI report exposes the lack of coordination between agencies that have stymied theCOVID-19 fight. The report states that earlier it was BBMP that would coordinatewith private hospitals and rush patients to facilities. But now, patients arehaving to call BBMP and beseech hospitals to admit them.
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