Gurugram residents allege long wait time on helplines

The complaints were made for different portals like checking Covid test reports, bed trackers and allotments, and general helplines among others.

Amid the shortage of beds and increasing SOS calls on social media, many Gurugram residents have alleged that various helpline numbers issued by the district administration are not useful and have long waiting lists. The complaints were made for different portals like checking Covid test reports, bed trackers and allotments, and general helplines among others.

A health worker collects a sample for Covid-19 test at a testing lab,amid a countrywide surge in coronavirus, in Gurugram (PTI Photo)

Pradeep Kumar, a resident of Sector 39, said, “We are five in a family, including myself. We had developed Covid-19 symptoms and got our tests done four days later, on May 1. We are still waiting for our reports. We had tried reaching the persons concerned on the link: https://onemapggm.gmda.gov.in and were told that we can download a copy of the report, but I didn’t even get the OTP. I tried the helpline number as well, but either it was busy or the executives there guided us back to the portal with very less information.”

Another resident, requesting anonymity, said, “I had registered for a bed at the district administration’s portal on April 26 for my uncle, whose oxygen level had been dropping continuously. We tried everywhere but were unable to find a bed for four days, even after registering on the portal. I just received a call, informing me that I will be directed to a hospital, but I did not get any response after that... My uncle died on Monday.”

Vinay Singh, who was looking for an oxygen bed for a relative on Tuesday evening, said, “I have been trying to contact all possible helpline numbers since the morning, but did not get any help. Either some of the numbers were switched off or busy or the executives said they will get back to me. We don’t have time, so now we are trying to get a bed through social media.”

Out of 43 hospitals in the district, no oxygen, ventilator or ICU beds were available in Gurugram as of Tuesday night, as per the district portal.

Meanwhile, Prashant Panwar, additional deputy commissioner, Gurugram, said despite shortage of beds, the bed management team in the district has been continuously monitoring the situation, and directing patients to the hospitals. “We understand there is a shortage of beds and delay in response, but all requests on different portals are being directed to the respective teams, especially for bed management. We have also requested patients’ families not to wait to find beds till the situation gets critical, and they must directly approach hospitals. Our bed management team is also continuously monitoring patients,” Panwar said.

Munish Sharma, nodal officer for bed management, Gurugram, said, “We were able to update the portal real time even a week ago, but now, with the rise in the cases, patients are seen waiting outside hospitals as beds are being occupied immediately. We have asked hospitals to check which patients actually need hospitalisation. It is not that we cannot increase the bed supply, but everything is dependent on the oxygen supply, which is also being increased gradually.”

Gurugram reported 4,475 fresh Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths on Tuesday. There are 37,708 active cases in the district, and the recovery rate is 72.33%, while the fatality rate is 0.38%.