Father dies in hospital due to Covid, son passes away after ICU hunt

Bengaluru: Subramanya, a 35-year-old techie and a resident of Banashankari lost the battle against Covid-19 after being shifted from one hospital to another in search of an oxygenated ICU bed. The report states that he was unconscious in his last days and unaware of the fact that his father too had succumbed to the views two days earlier.

Asha Suryanarayan, a voluntary blood donor, social worker and family friend, said frantic calls made to the government helplines, joint commissioners of BBMP and the health minister’s office failed to acquire an ICU bed for Subramanya in time.

Asha also added, “What the government says is just not matching with the ground reality. I called up several officers, health minister’s officers and MLAs only to be told that they were busy in meetings. Nobody helped, even the helplines were of no help.”

Man dies outside Vijayapura hospital

In an unfortunate incident, a man with Covid like symptoms died outside the district hospital in Vijayapura on Monday. DC P Sunil Kumar said, “His relatives searched for beds in the district hospital. By the time they arrived, 3-4 patients were in a queue to get admitted and the situation was out of control.

‘Patients oxygen saturation level was 65%’

Subramanya had no comorbidities. One of his family members tested positive for Covid-19 a fortnight ago and thereafter other members were tested. Though Subramanya’s result came out to be negative, he had quarantined himself at home for safety. “It was only when he started having acute breathing difficulty that he was taken to a hospital near Banashankari,” said Asha. But with the passing week, his condition worsened as he kept slipping in and out of consciousness.

Asha began hunting for an ICU bed by Sunday night as his condition worsened and the hospital was running out of oxygen. It was only on Monday afternoon that he was given an ICU bed at the Prashanth hospital, near Bommanahalli.

“When we got a request from the patient’s family on Monday afternoon, his oxygen saturation level was 65%, against the normal of 95% and above. Two hours later, when he reached our hospital, it had further dipped to just 45%. We did our best. He was on the ventilator, but we lost him. The patient would have definitely survived had he received the right treatment at right time,” said Dr. Vishwanath Reddy, managing director of Prashanth hospital.

Subramanya died around 7:30 pm on Monday. “His was a case of Covid pneumonia which was not detected through RT-PCR test but found by an HRCT (high resolution computed tomography) scan of the chest.”

Asha said Subramanya’s father, Srinivas, who was being treated for Covid at a private hospital near Katriguppe in South Bengaluru, died on April 17. Family members were not available to speak to the media. Subramanya’s last rites were performed on Tuesday morning.

Asha said she was able to help more than 150 patients last year through her network in the medical fraternity which included securing beds, as she is a regular blood donor. Asha added, “This time, even as hospitals are trying their best, there is a shortage of oxygen supply and there are no ventilators available. We lost Subramanya because of government incapabilities in handling the Covid emergency, ”

Gasping man dies outside dist. hospital

A man with Covid like symptoms died outside Vijayapura district hospital on Monday after being turned away by private hospitals. Witnesses state that he struggled for 2 hours and then succumbed in front of his wife and children. Deputy commissioner P Sunil Kumar expressed his regret and said that the man’s oxygen level had dipped to 50% when he reached the hospital. He stated that, “We learnt that he was suffering after fever and breathing issues and wandered for two hours in the city to get admitted to private hospitals. One of his relatives visited the district hospital and was told that one bed was available in ICU. By the time the patient was brought, 3-4 patients were in queue to be admitted in ICU.”

The DC said that though ICU beds are fully occupied, general beds are available in the district hospital. “We appeal to the people to visit the fever clinic as soon as they as soon as they develop Covid symptoms”, Kumar said.