As Bengaluru witnesses a massive spike in COVID-19 cases, several cases of medical laxity have emerged where people were compelled to wait for hours for ambulances.

A lady in her 50s who had tested positive for COVID-19 positive. An authority from a private hospital had called her and asked her to wait for an ambulance which would come and take her to a government hospital.

While she received the call at around 1 PM, the ambulance came at 9 PM. For nearly eight hours, she had to wait outside her house, waiting for the ambulance, as her husband and son were quarantined inside.

‘I had gone to a hospital and came back home yesterday evening. I was resting comfortably at home. I had no cold, cough, fever or headache. I washed clothes and cooked. Then at 1 PM, I got a call from Kagalipura hospital saying I was (COVID-19) positive. They asked me to pack my clothes and be ready for the ambulance. I have been sitting, waiting since then,’ the woman told NDTV.

This comes a day after the commissioner of Bengaluru civic body offered an unconditional apology to the family of the COVID-19 patient who died at his residence after waiting for an ambulance for nearly two hours.

Residents need to call on 108 in need of an ambulance. With proper sanitisation after every trip in a sprawling city, ambulance teams face some serious challenges. Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has urged people of Bengaluru not to panic and assured that 450 ambulances have been added to the fleet.

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