Bengaluru burns patient denied admission at four hospital

BENGALURU: Janaki, 28-year-old mother of three suffered 25 per cent burn injuries on her face in Monday’s cylinder blast in Ejipura. What followed was a nightmarish experience as she was denied admission in four hospitals before finally being admitted to Victoria Hospital’s Mahabodhi Burns Centre. 
On Monday afternoon, her family members, originally from Tamil Nadu, were left fuming. Her husband Saravana, an auto driver, had to bring his wife to the hospital in an auto after the ambulance broke down. 

Maheshwari, Janaki’s sister-in-law, said, “We first went to Bowring, then to St Philomena’s, and then to Kaveri Hospital. Everywhere they said they don’t have burns wards. We then went to St John’s where they said they had no beds though there is a burns ward there. At Adugodi signal, the ambulance broke down. My brother Saravana had to take his wife in his auto.” St John’s hospital has only six beds in total for burns patients along with a few other beds for cases with low severity. 

Another family member alleged, “Our autos were stopped at Victoria hospital’s gate saying they are not allowed inside the campus. We had to explain that the patient was inside.” 
Saravana lost his cool and was seen yelling outside the burns centre on Monday afternoon. “Nobody came to our help after the building collapse. I had to beg people to call for an ambulance. Besides that ambulance broke down in Koramangala,” he said. 

“Janaki has three little children -- Aishwarya (11), Priya (8) and Srikanth (6). They haven’t stopped crying ever since they saw their mother with burns,” Maheshwari said. 
Dr KT Ramesh, head of the department of plastic surgery and burns, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, said, “She is stable but she has 20 per cent to 25 per cent burns. She will recover though.”

Dr HS Sathish, medical superintendent, Victoria Hospital said, “Autos stand in front of every hospital on the campus be it Vani Vilas or Emergency and Trauma Care. Majority of the patients come in autos. Why they were stopped at the gate needs to be ascertained.”