83-yr-old Covid patient gets bed after waiting for over a day

Eighty-three-year-old Sudhakar Shiravdekar, a resident of Shivaji Park, had to wait for a day-and-a-half after he tested positive for Covid-19 to get a bed at a

Eighty-three-year-old Sudhakar Shiravdekar, a resident of Shivaji Park, had to wait for a day-and-a-half after he tested positive for Covid-19 to get a bed at a hospital.

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His son, Harshal, had reached out to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) as well as political leaders seeking medical help.

“He tested positive on Tuesday. He does not have respiratory issues, but he is diabetic. We did not mind if it was a private or a BMC-affiliated hospital. We needed quick help as my father is bedridden,” said Harshal.

Shiravdekar and his wife both had dry cough, however, only Sudhakar tested positive.

Harshal added that on Tuesday morning, following the test report, the civic body sanitised their house as well as the society premises. As a result, Harshal and his family, who live a few blocks away, were asked to not stay with the couple in a bid to not expose them to the infection.

However, due to the unavailability of a bed, Shiravdekar’s wife stayed with him in the same flat as he required special care.

“My parents, both of whom are elderly, have been staying alone. We are helpless,” said Harshal. He added that after continuously seeking an update on the bed, he received a call on Wednesday morning that an ambulance would be sent to pick up Shiravdekar.

However, the ambulance arrived only around 3pm.

“We do not have complaints about the civic body. But, in a situation such as this, a patient’s family needs to be guided. Hospital bed and ambulances need to be made available,” Harshal said.

Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner, said after a bed was allotted to the patient, a request has been made for a special ICU bed for him because of his co-morbidity. “I received a call on Tuesday evening. It isn’t right to say that he had to wait for two days because we arranged the bed on Wednesday morning. A centralised procedure is being followed, hence it takes time for us to arrange a bed and an ambulance for patients,” said Dighavkar.