COVID-19: BBMP issues notice to hospital

Management allegedly denied beds to two patients referred by the civic body

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has issued a show cause notice to St. Martha’s Hospital on Nrupathunga Road for allegedly denying beds to two patients referred by the civic body. Civic officials have sought a response from the hospital management, warning that failure to comply would invite action under relevant provisions of the Epidemic Disease Act, 1897, and Disaster Management Act, 2005. This is not the first such case of a hospital denying admission. In April, a 31-year-old resident of Shivajinagar died after being denied admission by two hospitals though an ICU bed was allotted through Karnataka’s centralised bed allotment portal.