SVIMS makes a volte-face on referral

Tirupati: Strong protests from political and social organisations as well as the Left parties on Wednesday saw the SVIMS Director taking a U-turn on his circular asking private hospital not to refer the patients in critical condition under ventilation to SVIMS.

SVIMS Director T S Ravikumar recently issued a circular to private hospitals in the city, in which he reportedly sought the hospitals not to send patients on ventilator to SVIMS as the hospital is having limited facilities. This sparked widespread protests and also drew flake from the private hospitals and medical associations in the pilgrim city.

The Left parties under the banner of ‘Vamapaksha Praja Sanghala Ikya Vedika’ comprising CPM, CPI and also their frontal women and youth organisations jointly staged a dharna against the circular. While the Rayalaseema Porata Samithi (RPS) activists led by its district convener P Naveen Kumar Reddy also protested against the SVIMS move to bar private hospital utilising its services in case of emergency.

Addressing the protestors, the city secretaries of CPI and CPM C Penchalaiah and Subramanyam respectively lambasted the SVIMS Director for issuing such circular which they said will prove fatal on the part of poor patients.

Brushing aside SVIMS Director contention that this was keeping in view the limited facilities in SVIMS, the leaders said that the hospital management should strive to get required support from the government to expand the facilities for which they are to support and should not resort to such restriction. The protestors raised slogans against the SVIMS Director and vociferously sought him to immediately withdraw the circular.

The RPS activists sought alms from the public and those came to SVIMS for treatment in a novel way of resenting the Director issuing a circular citing SVIMS facing difficulties in providing facilities to the patients from private hospital, irrespective of their condition.

The protests and also criticism from various sections in the city ultimately saw Ravikumar withdrawing the circular with immediate effect ending the dharna by Left parties.

Later, in a press release, Ravikumar affirmed that the SVIMS has always and will continue to accept all patients requiring care in the critical condition. The intent of the original circular was to ensure that doctor-to-doctor communication is established prior to transfer of any patient, who is in serious condition or on ventilator.