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Tuesday, Dec 23, 2008
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Chaos at several city hospitals

Bangalore Bureau

Door-to-door vaccination programme has been
held up in city
TV channel claims that a child died after being administered polio drops

Bangalore: “We worked all night risking our lives. We are capable of treating patients, not handling a mob,” said a doctor at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital here, who faced the wrath of worried parents on Sunday night.

Hundreds of parents and relatives of children rushed to hospitals, including private hospitals and clinics nearby, following reports flashed on a television channel which claimed that a child had died after being administered polio drops.

It was on Sunday that the national Pulse Polio programme started across the country.

Lakshmi Ramakrishna, who works as a domestic help, took her one-and-half-year-old daughter to a private hospital in Sanjaynagar.

“We heard the news at around 1 a.m. and rushed to the hospital. The paediatrician refused to come to the hospital. Other doctors agreed to examine the children only after parents threatened to damage hospital property,” she said.

Syed Azgar, Mohammed Altaf and Mohammed Hafeez from Vijayanagar had brought 12 children for check-up to a private hospital early on Monday morning. “We heard the news and knew that it would be chaotic at the hospitals at night,” said Mr. Azgar.

After the rumours spread, many parents did not get their wards vaccinated on Monday, and the door-to-door programme was held up in the city except in Banaswadi. Health Commissioner P.N. Srinivasachari said: “There is no truth to the rumours which have caused untold misery, hardship and inconvenience to people, officials and medical practitioners.”

Doctors and health staff at government hospitals, including the Bowring, K.C. General and Vani Vilas hospitals, worked without a break until the early hours of Monday.

Property was destroyed and doctors assaulted by mobs. At the Bowring hospital, medicines meant for HIV and tuberculosis were taken away. Police had to be called in to control the mob at many places.

They requested people not to give heed to rumours and made repeated announcements through microphones.

J. Narayana Gowda, Resident Medical Officer, Vani Vilas Hospital, said that around 5,000 parents and relatives thronged the hospital. “Polio vaccine does not have any side-effects or complications. Not a single child was affected owing to the vaccine,” he said.

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