Covid patient's wife pleads for bed in front of Karnataka CM's house; man dies on way to hospital

Bengaluru, May 6

In a tragic incident, a Covid patient died on his way to the hospital after his family members pleaded for a hospital bed in front of Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa's official residence Cauvery, here on Thursday.

Even though the CMO officials made arrangements for a bed and an ambulance, the patient was reportedly declared brought dead by the hospital authorities.

The deceased person has identified as Satish, a resident of Ramohalli on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

According to sources in the CMO, Satish's wife came along with her ailing husband aged around 50 years, and staged a protest in front of the CM's residence seeking a bed for her husband.

"After testing positive for Covid-19, my husband was convalescing at home. But unfortunately his condition deteriorated, and we could not get him admitted to a hospital despite all our efforts," the wailing wife told mediapersons.

According to her, the family members searched all around Ramohalli, which has about a dozen hospitals, but none were ready to admit her husband citing non-availability of beds.

"As the family was accompanied by a Covid patient, none were ready to evict them. After mediapersons intervened, the CMO officials within a short time arranged for a bed at the M.S. Ramaiah Hospital. An ambulance was also arranged, but the patient died on his way to the hospital," the source said.

The woman complained that she ran from pillar to post in and around Ramohalli in search of a hospital bed for her husband, and even her continuous efforts to get in touch with the Covid control rooms also did not yield any result, as all the helpline numbers were busy for the last two days.

"I could not bear to see my husband's deteriorating health condition. Therefore, I came all the way from Ramohalli with great difficulty only to seek the CM's intervention to get a bed for my husband, or else let him die here (in front of CM's house),"  the source told IANS quoting the woman. — IANS