New Delhi:
Twelve patients at Delhi’s Batra Hospital, including a senior doctor, died on Saturday and at least two other hospitals reported precipitous drops in their oxygen stocks.
With the death of the 12 patients in the south Delhi hospital — which announced at 12.30 p.m. that it had run out of oxygen — the number of hospital patients who have lost their lives in the deepening crisis in the last eight days has gone up to 57.
Batra first reported the deaths of eight, and revised the toll to 12 by evening.
“We are trying to resuscitate five other critical patients,” Dr S C L Gupta, medical director of Batra hospital, told a news agency earlier in the day.
“Six of the patients who died were admitted to the ICU,” he said. Among those who died due to the lack of oxygen were Dr R K Himthani, head of the gastroenterology department who had been admitted to the hospital for the last 15-20 days.
He said the government had sent out SOS messages about oxygen shortage on Saturday. The hospital had informed authorities about lack of oxygen in the morning when only 2,500 litres left. Then, at around 12.30 pm, hospital authorities claimed they had run out of oxygen. The tanker arrived at 1.35 pm.
Dr. Sudhanshu Bankata, Executive Director of Batra Hospital said, “We ran out of LMO (Liquid Medical Oxygen) at 12:15 p.m. and we received LMO supply at 1:35 p.m. In between we had some oxygen cylinders, but they cannot support ventilators. Eight people died due to shortage of oxygen and we not receiving oxygen on time.”
Six of the eight patients were admitted in the ICU.
“Not getting oxygen can lead to complications for the patients in the future also. Once the patient destabilise, death can happen later also,” he said.
Dr. Bankata had said at 12:15 pm that the oxygen situation was “extremely critical” and the hospital is not being able to “support ventilated patients”.
Around 1 pm, he said in a video statement, “We have just run out of oxygen. Currently we are surviving on some oxygen cylinders, but that will also run out over the next 10 minutes.”
The hospital has a total of 307 COVID-19 patients, the doctor said.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed his anguish on Twitter.
“This news is very painful. These lives could have been saved – by giving oxygen on time. Delhi should be given oxygen of its quota. Such deaths of our people are not seen anymore. Delhi required 976 tonnes of oxygen and yesterday only 312 tonnes of oxygen was given. How does Delhi breathe in such a low oxygen?,” said Kejriwal on Twitter.
Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia also reacted to the news on Twitter by bringing out the mismatch in supply and demand of oxygen in the city. “The central government yesterday told the Supreme Court that 10,000 MT oxygen is produced daily in the country, which is quite surplus to the daily requirement of 7500MT. Delhi needs 976MT, yet Delhi’s quota is 490MT and supplies only 312MT. Why?,” said Sisodia.
