4COVID patients put beds at ward office in protest

They demonstrated after they were unable to find treatment spot in the Sinhagad Road area

Late Murlidhar Pandurang Laigude Dispensary (hospital) and COVID swab testing centre on Sinhagad Road, run by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), recently suspended operations due to shifting of medical staff and proposed renovation.

It has resulted in hundreds of patients from the area to find different facilities to test in emergencies. While a few are relying on private hospitals, not everybody has been able to tap this option.

On Monday, four symptomatic patients found themselves in a precarious spot when they found no beds after repeated attempts. They took to protest at the Sinhagad Road ward office’s parking lot, where they carried their beds to reinforce the demand for opening treatment spots. If not, they demanded treatment inside the premises itself.

Govind Pardeshi, a patient from Dhayari, said, “I was trying to get in touch with the authorities ever since my swab tests came out positive. But nobody came to see me. With no option, I keep making rounds of the Laigude hospital and ward office to know the status of beds. There was no help in sight. Thus, I brought my bed. My condition encouraged others in a similar condition to join.”

Another patient rued the suspension of the treatment facility in the area. He, who did not wish to be named, said, “We cannot afford private treatment for all family members who have tested positive. The jumbo facility is also not running with full capacity. I joined the protest after running out of options.”

The ward office staff panicked due to the proximity of patients. The agitation intensified when members of political parties, who had also visited to conduct a dharna for the cause, joined the patients.

Nilesh Girme, local Shiv Sena leader who joined the protest, said, “We decided to support the patients as soon as we saw them. Patients from the area now run from the pillar to post to get a swab test, normal and oxygen beds. Many critical patients, who come from underprivileged backgrounds, are going around in search of treatment. Since the senior civic officers were not paying attention, we decided to continue the protest until the arrangement of the new facility.”

The demonstration came to an end only after the authorities arranged for ambulances and shifted the four patients to Navale COVID hospital for treatment.

Jayashree Katkar-Borade, assistant commissioner of Sinhagad Road ward office, said, “We have shifted the protesting patients to Navale hospital for further treatment. We are working on creating a new COVID facility with help from health authorities. The patients also need to connect with ward offices if they have any doubts about tests and the availability of beds.”

PMC’s health chief Dr Ramchandra Hankare said that Laigude hospital would reopen in the next few days after the staff are available and renovation of oxygen plants.

The Sinhagad Road ward office looks over five wards and represents over 3.5 lakh people. At least 700 of them test every day. The residents here were already at a disadvantage as swab testing centre near Pu La Deshpande Garden is not running at full capacity.