This story is from May 15, 2021

Telangana: Cops turned away patients with bed assurance too

Hours before the high court sat in session on Friday, police along with health and revenue officials stopped ambulances from entering Telangana’s borders, some had documents to show they had hospital beds booked in advance.
Telangana: Cops turned away patients with bed assurance too
Officials at the entry points, checking ambulances on Friday
Hyderabad: Hours before the high court sat in session on Friday, police along with health and revenue officials stopped ambulances from entering Telangana’s borders, some had documents to show they had hospital beds booked in advance.
In fact, ambulances were stopped at various interstate check points from last night itself and some frantically sought help from ministers and bureaucrats through social media, without much success.

One such ambulance carried 65-year-old N Raghava Reddy, a farmer from Choutapalle village of Kadapa district, with Covid-19 symptoms. He was travelling to TX hospital in Kacheguda, Hyderabad.
“My father has asthma and developed Covid-19 symptoms including viral pneumonia. Doctors in Jammalamadugu and Proddutur towns advised us to look for a ventilator bed and we found a bed in TX hospital, Kacheguda. Despite showing the letter from the hospital, police stopped us at Pullur check post at 11 pm on Thursday and after waiting till 8 am, we returned to Kurnool. With the help of our local MLA, we found an oxygen bed in a private hospital of Kurnool,” Raghava Reddy’s son Veera Reddy said.
Veera Reddy said that about 30 ambulances, some with documents, turned back after they were stopped at the checkpost and he had paid Rs 70,000 for the ambulance service.
“After I sought help on social media, people claiming to be from KTR’s and Revanth Reddy’s office called. They took my details but we were not allowed to travel to Hyderabad,” Reddy said.
About 40 ambulances trying to enter the state from Andhra Pradesh at Ramapuram check point in Suryapet district, Pullur toll plaza check point in Jogulamba Gadwal district, Wadapally check point in Nalgonda, Sironcha border check point at Rapanpalle in Mancherial district and at Bidar border check point in Hadnoor of Sangareddy district were stopped by the police along with health and
revenue department staff.
Police of Alampur said they were only following the instructions of health and revenue department staff. At Suryapet district border in Kodad Rural police station limits, several ambulances had to turn back for not having required permission.
“We are stopping the ambulances for health and revenue department staff to check the details of the patient. If it was a Covid-19 patient, the health department staff check with state control room to verify if they have permission and if the patient did not have permission, based on the instructions of health department staff, we sent them back,” Kodad inspector Shivaram Reddy said. At around 9 pm, police stopped intercepting ambulances entering Telangana based on the specific instructions from the state government.
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