Look into demand for more doctors at Jayadeva hospital in Mysuru: CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has issued a directive to the Principal Secretary of the Medical Education Department to look into the demand for additional doctors at the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research in Mysuru.

The direction was issued in reply to a letter by Dinesh Gooli Gowda, MLC, that the hospital had reported a surge in the inflow of patients over the last few days, following media reports that youngsters died of heart attacks in Hassan district.

Medical Superintendent K.S. Sadananda claimed that about 250 to 300 patients from the district were making a beeline to the hospital every day as a ‘panic reaction’ to the news reports about the death of youngsters.

Some patients underwent a check-up as a preventive step, and others complained of minor chest pain.

Dr. Sadananda recalled a similiar trend post the death of actor Puneeth Rajkumar in October 2021 when thousands of people came to the hospital for a check-up.

He said the hospital had a capacity of treating about 700 to 750 patients a day. “If the number goes up, it will become difficult for doctors and technicians to handle the patient load,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Gowda, in his letter to the Chief Minister, has claimed that the patient load at the hospital had doubled with a large number of people not only from Hassan but also Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, and Kodagu districts were rushing to the hospital.

He requested Mr. Siddaramaiah to deploy additional cardiologists from other districts to handle the siituation.

The letter, which was also addressed to Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, and Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, has emphasised the need for establishing a referral system in which patients showing early symptoms should be screened at district and taluk hospitals, and only severe cases should be sent to the Jayadeva hospital.

While seeking an in-depth study of the causes for the rise in heart attacks, Mr. Gowda said that massive awareness drives should be carried out across all taluks to spread information about early symptoms of a heart attack, prevention methods, healthy lifestyle, and emergency measures.