Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah, who are being treated for COVID-19 at a private hospital in Bengaluru, are not just sharing the same floor at the hospital, but are also being treated by the same team of doctors.
Sources at Manipal Hospitals said both of them, admitted on the 11th floor, enquired about each other’s health. “This is probably the first time that a Chief Minister and Opposition leader are being treated for the same ailment at the same hospital by the same team of doctors,” said a doctor.
Sudarshan Ballal, chairman of Manipal Hospitals, said political leaders who are more likely to meet a large number of people are at greater risk of contracting the infection. “It is important that everyone follow precautions and avoid large gatherings. Also, those who develop symptoms should seek medical advice without delay,” he said.
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Meanwhile, questions have been raised about why politicians across the board — from Union Home Minister Amit Shah to Mr. Siddaramaiah — prefer private hospitals at this time.
An office-bearer of the Federation of Healthcare Associations of India pointed out that Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain got himself admitted to Max Hospital, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan to Chirayu Hospital, Bhopal, Mr. Amit Shah to Medanta, Gurugram, Haryana, Mr. Yediyurappa and Mr. Siddaramaiah to Manipal Hospitals, Bengaluru, and Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit to Kauvery Hospital, Chennai.
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“These are the people who themselves, directly or indirectly, are responsible for the state of affairs in our public healthcare. They have absolutely no faith in government healthcare hospitals/infrastructure and prefer to get admitted at private ones. What kind of example are they setting for the common man? No wonder even the common man prefers private healthcare facilities even though it means paying exorbitant charges,” said a doctor.
R. Ravindra, president of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association in Karnataka, said it is ironic that on the one hand the government was filing criminal cases against private hospitals, while on the other policy-makers were getting admitted to private hospitals. “We are happy to treat them and hope they will realise the good work done by private hospitals,” he said. Dr. Ballal said the choice of hospital was a personal one of the patients. “We will do the best for all our patients,” he said.
Sources said that by getting himself admitted to a private hospital, the Chief Minister, who is asymptomatic, was violating his own order that stated that only moderately and severely ill COVID-19 patients should be admitted to hospitals. “If he is asymptomatic, the Chief Minister has to be admitted to a COVID Care Centre, not a hospital,” a source said.