Bengaluru bed system delaying admissions

On May 17, Covid patient Sarasamma died while being transported to a government hospital in east Bengaluru, after waiting three days for allocation of a bed. On Thursday, one of those hunting for a bed was Sunil Kumar, who himself works in the zonal war room of the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike), which is meant to allot beds for Covid-19.

Over a fortnight after the government announced measures to streamline the bed allotment system in Bengaluru for Covid-19, prompted by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s allegations of widespread corruption and mismanagement, new problems have surfaced.

Kumar said he had helped hundreds get beds since the first wave, but for his friend he was told to try Bowring, Victoria and Ghousia government hospitals. “They are insisting they will take in a patient only if a bed has been booked through the BBMP war room. I work in the war room and I know it takes some time before we can find a bed.”

Under the new system, discretionary powers of hospitals to admit walk-in patients have been reduced, while there is an audit of response time by the war rooms, and the number of calls before a bed is booked. Patients have only four hours to get admitted in a hospital after a bed has been allotted, instead of the earlier 10 hours; war room officials have individual login IDs to improve accountability; and a manual bed unblocking feature has been disabled.

Kumar acknowledged that the process was better in principle. However, he pointed out, “Doctors have to approve the request for a bed and it has to be cleared by an IAS official. It takes more time.” The wait can drag on for over 24 hours to find ICU and ICU ventilator beds.

M Lakshman, a worker with Labournet, an NGO deployed at hospitals and helping patients, said, “It takes 6-7 hours to get a bed. For one patient on May 19 it took 10 hours.” He said the walk-in system worked better in ensuring immediate help for critical patients.

A nurse employed at a large Covid government hospital said, “Anybody who admits walk-in patients has to face an inquiry. We would earlier treat patients in emergency situations, but we are now doing what the government has instructed.”

The new system that requires a positive test report also keeps out suspected Covid cases, even if they have breathing problems.

On Thursday, the BBMP unveiled a new real-time dashboard, with zone-wise as well as admission and discharge data, on bed availability in Bengaluru. Surya welcomed the same, saying on social media, “This will enable an efficient and transparent process where every citizen irrespective of his financial or social status will be treated fairly and equally by the system.”