Tuesday’s bandh kept many patients away from hospitals. Although most of the staff members, including doctors and paramedics, could make it to their workplaces, patient flow was reduced by over 30% in most hospitals.
While hospitals had arranged for ambulances to pick and drop their staff members, doctors and other staff could reach their workplaces on their own as transport facilities were only partially hit.
While the patient flow in Vani Vilas and Minto Ophthalmic hospitals, attached to Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), reduced by 50%, Victoria hospital saw 35% decrease in patient footfall. “On an average, we see 1,210 patients in the OPD at Victoria hospital. Due to the bandh, only 795 patients visited the hospital. Admissions also came down from an average of 125 to 63 on Tuesday,” said Ramesh Krishna K., BMCRI dean and director.
At Bowring and Lady Curzon hospital, the patient flow reduced from the average 1,500 to 770. “However, the number of admissions were a little higher compared to usual days. We had 50 admissions on Monday and 68 on Tuesday,” said Manoj Kumar H.V., dean and director.
It was a similar scenario at Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Research and Sciences. “While the usual OPD flow is around 1,500, we saw 1,050 patients on Tuesday. The number of admissions also reduced from the usual 250 to 120. This is mainly because those coming from other regions of the State chose to postpone their visits,” said C.N. Manjunath, institute director.
At the State-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, the number of new cases reduced to 43 from the daily 120. While follow-up cases also came down to 852 on Tuesday from around 2,000 seen on an average daily, admissions were marginally reduced to 32 from the usual over 40, according to hospital authorities.
Authorities at K.C. General and Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health also recorded reduced patient flow.
Ambulance service
The number of emergency calls made to Arogya Kavacha 108 ambulance service was 100 less than the number received on Monday. “We had received 4,563 calls on Monday whereas on Tuesday the calls came down to 4,433. Expecting a higher call volume, we had kept additional vehicles ready by postponing their regular maintenance service. But, the calls were lesser compared to usual days,” said GVK-EMRI Chief Executive Officer Hanumanth R.G.
Medical stores remain open
Medical supplies remained unhindered as all medical stores functioned as usual. Raghunath Reddy, president of Karnataka Druggists and Chemists Association, said all the 6,000 and odd medical stores in the city functioned as usual.
