DC praises private hospitals for timely help

MYSURU: The death toll in the Sulwadi temple prasadam poisoning case could have been much higher had it not been for timely services rendered by private hospitals in Mysuru, Abhiram G Shankar, deputy commissioner, revealed. He said private hospitals came to the aid of ailing devotees simply on an oral plea for help from the district administration. As more and more devotees fell ill after consuming prasadam and required urgent medical attention, Shankar and other officials called up private hospitals, requesting them to treat patients. Ill devotees streamed into hospitals till late in the night. Shankar said private hospitals took them in without any orders or assurance on bill reimbursements.“I was informed on Friday evening (December 14) by my Chamarajanagar counterpart about the crisis and the need for medical facilities for a huge number of devotees, ” Shankar told TOI. " I personally spoke to authorities at three hospitals including JSS. The district health officer (DHO) and other authorities contacted other hospitals and ensured no devotee w as left unattended. We did not issue an order on accommodating patients in private hospitals. It was a voluntary response to our oral r equest.” Shankar said devotees were sent to various hospitals based on their condition. He praise d the response of private hospitals. “It is for the second time in the last five months that the district administration got such a tremendous voluntary support during a crisis,” he said. “We had great support in August too, at the time of Kodagu flood.” According to authorities, doctors at Holy Cross hospital in Kamagere, Chamrajanagar district, helped stabilise the condition of patients. “Many patients were rushed to Holy Cross hospital where they were stabilised before transferring them to hospitals in Mysuru for further treatment,” said sources in the Chamarajanagar district health department. “It was a major challenge since very few ventilators were available in Kollegal. Both government and private hospital fraternity helped control the situation. There was no clarity on who would pay the hospital bill, yet private hospitals admitted patients without questions.”