A Kerala youth working in Nottingham was brought to his hometown in Kozhikode in a chartered flight for emergency medical treatment. The youth, Prasad Das, was seriously ill and stuck at his workplace in the UK amid lockdown clamped in view of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 37-year-old Vadakara resident works in an IT firm. On reaching the Kozhikode international airport, Das had to undergo the mandatory screening test for coronavirus before being shifted to Aster MIMS hospital in Kozhikode in a specially arranged ambulance.
Last year, Das had received treatment for gastrointestinal ailments at Aster MIMS hospital. Recently, the ailment recurred. Since UK hospitals are preoccupied with coronavirus emergencies, Das was unable to get treatment for an infection in the local hospital. He then contacted the Aster MIMS hospital.
Soon, permissions were obtained to airlift him to Kozhikode in a chartered flight and the necessary formalities were completed with the help of state health department and district administration. The arrangements to airlift Das was made using a WhatsApp group led by former Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph and former Union minister Alphons Kannanthanam, who got ready the required clearances from various ministries within two days, according to 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 Weifare 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", Kannanthanam was quoted as saying.
