The State government has made some changes in the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS), after an inspection by Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi on Monday.
Mr. Savadi complained of negligence by doctors and staff and other problems in the hospital attached to the government medical college. He said that the hospital was worse than a cow shed and expressed helplessness about it. He said that most of COVID-19 deaths in the district had occurred in BIMS. He accused doctors and staff of negligence that he said had caused the deaths.
On Wednesday, the Medical Education Department approved of the leave application by BIMS Director Vinay Dastikopp. Head of the Department of Anatomy Umesh Kulkarni will be in charge, in Dr. Dastikopp’s absence.
The State government has also changed deputation of Sanjiv Katte, who was in charge of disposal of bodies. The government has transferred a matron and six nurses.
Ashok Chandaragi, social activist, said that this was being done to show to people that the government is serious about COVID-19 management. “BIMS is in a mess. Doctors and nurses are not really concerned about treating patients properly. They are all negligent. We have complained to the government about this. The government is doing all this only to hoodwink the people as Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa is scheduled to visit the district,’’ he said.
He pointed out that Dr. Dastikopp has been sent on leave despite a government order that has cancelled leave of all Health and Medical Education Department staff during the pandemic.
