Kardevva held her baby close as she walked across the campus of the Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences in Huballi. The child, draped in purple cloth and hidden from the camera's view, was on oxygen support. Two men, both relatives of Kardevva's, carried the cylinder that helped the little girl breathe.
Kardevva's daughter had a high fever. In fact, she had been sick for a few days. But since there are no medical facilities in Hooli, the village where Kardevva is from, she brought her child to KIMS, oxygen cylinder in tow.
She thought someone would come to help her when she reached the hospital. But nobody did.
So it was her relatives who hauled the cylinder all the way to the pathology lab, where her baby underwent some tests.
There was a cruel touch of irony to the tale. Only hours earlier, Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil was at KIMS to highlight medical facilities provided to the underprivileged.
When Patil learned of Kardevva's plight, all he did was tell the chief administrative officer that such an incident shouldn't happen again, and ask that the baby be given proper treatment.
Why didn't KIMS hospital officials help Kardevva and her family when they reached the campus?
And why did she have to come all the way to the city of Huballi to get treatment for her daughter? Why didn't the local district hospital provide the medical facilities she needed?
These are questions that need answering.
Kardevva's daughter had a high fever. In fact, she had been sick for a few days. But since there are no medical facilities in Hooli, the village where Kardevva is from, she brought her child to KIMS, oxygen cylinder in tow.
She thought someone would come to help her when she reached the hospital. But nobody did.
So it was her relatives who hauled the cylinder all the way to the pathology lab, where her baby underwent some tests.
There was a cruel touch of irony to the tale. Only hours earlier, Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil was at KIMS to highlight medical facilities provided to the underprivileged.
When Patil learned of Kardevva's plight, all he did was tell the chief administrative officer that such an incident shouldn't happen again, and ask that the baby be given proper treatment.
Why didn't KIMS hospital officials help Kardevva and her family when they reached the campus?
And why did she have to come all the way to the city of Huballi to get treatment for her daughter? Why didn't the local district hospital provide the medical facilities she needed?
These are questions that need answering.