Elderly woman forced to alight from ambulance

Ponnamma’s family members were not informed by the hospital authorities of her discharge

An elderly woman who was discharged from the hospital after Covid-19 treatment at the Designated Covid Hospital was made to alight midway by the ambulance driver.

The inhumane incident took place in Kiraganduru village on Sunday evening.

Ponnamma, a 60-year-old woman, was admitted to the Designated Covid Hospital on May 15. After she recovered, she was discharged from the hospital on Sunday noon.

But Ponnamma’s family members were not informed by the hospital authorities of the same.

The ambulance driver who ferried Ponnamma asked her to alight from the ambulance at around 5 pm, at Aiguru Junction and drove the ambulance away.

Ponnamma had to walk all the way to her house situated two kilometres away from the junction. The place is known to have been affected by the wild elephant menace.

Also, the elderly woman had just been discharged from the hospital and is not back to robust health. She is still weak. In such a condition, how one can ask her to alight from the ambulance, the family members asked and also condemned the negligent attitude of the hospital authorities.

Ponnamma’s family member Vinu Kushalappa said that the family used to get information from the control room when the treatment was being provided.

But, no information was communicated when she was discharged from the hospital, he said and urged the district administration to take necessary action.