The activists of Nava Karnataka Nirmana Vedike staged a protest in the city on Wednesday demanding the upgrading of the medical services at the government-run McGann Hospital in the city.
Addressing the protest meet, Manjunath, District-unit president of the Vedike said that though McGann Hospital has a sufficient number of x-ray machines, ultra-sound and magnetic resonance image (MRI) scanning facilities, the patients are being forced to undergo these tests at private health establishments.
These units were not functioning properly owing to a shortage of trained staff.
Moreover, the fee charged for these tests at private health establishments is unaffordable to the patients from low-income groups, Mr. Manjunath said.
The hospital has 12 dialysis units and around 200 patients are undergoing dialysis here every week.
As the dialysis is done free of cost at the hospital , more patients from poor families are eager to avail the service here. He pressed the government to increase the number of dialysis units in the hospital.
The protesters also raised slogans demanding the maintenance of an ample stock of medicines at the hospital.
A number of functionaries of the Vedike including Kiran Kumar, Khasim and Ashok Kumar took part in the protest.
The fee charged at private health establishments is too high for poor patients
