Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Mar 21: A youth, who was injured in a road accident, failed to get medical assistance for over 12 hours on Sunday March 20 in the capital city of Karnataka as hospitals refused to admit him, duly raising question marks over payment of expenses.

Kishore (25) had suffered injuries in an accident on Saturday night. He was taken to several hospitals including Vaidehi Hospital and Victoria, before being finally getting admitted in NIMHANS with police intervention. The hospitals were not willing to take in the patient because it is police case, and also because the suspense over meeting of medical expenses, said Muhammed Khaleem Ulla, head constable of Anagondanahalli police station here. He said that hospitals were also reluctant because no one was accompanying the injured man, nor details of his close ones were available.

This happened in spite of the 'Harish Scheme' announced two weeks back by the state government under which the state government has assured of reimbursing immediate hospitalization expenses in case of accidents.

Kishore's sister, who lives in Bagalur, alerted her father, Raju, after seeing television news about the plight of her brother on Sunday evening. Raju then went to NIMHANS and began to take care of his son.

Kishore, working as driver for a private company, met with an accident when returning home after work at around midnight on Saturday near Arehalli on Hoskote Road. Head constable of Anagondanahalli station, Muhammed Khaleem Ulla, who went there after coming to know about the accident, took him to Vaidehi Hospital and admitted him there at around 2 am on Sunday. He observed that even at 9 am, the hospital had not begun any treatment, and when questioned, expressed their inability, explaining that the patient was an unaccompanied stranger, and management would question who will foot the bill.

Feeling helpless, Ulla brought him to Victoria Hospital where scanning was done and first aid was provided. The doctors, observing that the man had serious injuries in his head, asked him to be shifted to NIMHANS as Victoria Hospital does not have CT scanning machine. So he was brought to NIMHANS at around 3.30 pm, where he was immediately admitted into the intensive care unit and treatment was started. Kishore has suffered severe injuries to his head and limbs, and hospital sources said that although there is improvement in his condition, his left hand and left leg have lost their ability to move. It is hoped that condition will improve in course of time.