Kochi: A seriously ill youth from Kerala, stuck at his workplace in UK, was brought back to his hometown in a chartered flight for emergency medical treatment.
Prasad Das, an IT professional hailing from Vadakara in Kozhikode district, was admitted to a private hospital in Kozhikode. He reached Kozhikode international airport and after completing the mandatory screening test for coronavirus, he was shifted to Aster MIMS hospital.
Prasad who is working in Nottingham, UK had received treatment for gastrointestinal ailments from Aster MIMS hospital in Kozhikode a year ago and had returned to UK after completion of the treatment.
Due to the coronavirus outbreak, UK hospitals are preoccupied with the virus emergencies and seeking treatment for an infection in the local hospital turned to be difficult for Prasad.
As his condition deteriorated, Prasad contacted Dr Abhishek Rajan, a senior gastrointestinal surgeon at Aster MIMS hospital.
With the help of state health department and district administration, all the all necessary formalities and permissions were obtained for him to fly down to Kozhikode in a chartered flight.
The chartered flight carrying Prasad Das and family reached the airport from where he was taken to the hospital in a specially arranged ambulance.
According to the reports, the airlifting of the IT professional was made possible through the efforts of a WhatsApp group-- Distress Management Collective led by retired Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph and former Union minister, Alphons Kannanthanam. It is through their interventions that the required clearances from various ministries were obtained within two days, add the reports.
“This request for bringing the patient to Kerala came from Tom Aditya, mayor of a UK city, who wrote to us. We moved fast contacting Secretaries of Civil Aviation, Home, Health and Family Welfare besides Kerala chief secretary and in less than two days we got the necessary approvals from the four secretaries who are the busiest people now", Alphons Kannanthanam told PTI from New Delhi.
Apart from Dr Abhishek Rajan, gastrointestinal sciences head, Dr Anish Kumar, gastrointestinal surgery head, Dr Sajeesh Sahadevan, Dr Seethalakshmiand Dr Naushif are attending to the patient.
