Twenty patients died at the Jaipur Golden Hospital here on Friday night due to a shortage of medical oxygen as hospitals across the national capital issued repeated appeals for steady supplies of the lifesaver.
The deaths at Jaipur Golden Hospital in northwest Delhi came a day after 25 “sickest” patients died at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital due to a shortage of oxygen, which forced nurses to manually pump air to keep patients alive.
According to D K Baluja, the Medical Director at the Jaipur Golden Hospital, they were to receive 3.5 tonnes of oxygen on Friday evening but the supplies could reach only around midnight.
“By then 20 patients had died,” Baluja said.
“Next impending oxygen crises in Jaipur Golden Hospital. Over 200 lives at stake if liquid medical oxygen is not supplied by 9:00 PM tonight,” the hospital took to Twitter on Saturday evening.
Batra Hospital, Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in Delhi, Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh and Max Healthcare in Gurugram issued desperate appeals for steady supplies of oxygen.
The Sir Ganga Ram Hospital struggled to avoid a repeat of Friday’s tragedy and was forced to reduce the oxygen pressure for patients to ensure that the stocks last longer.
The hospital requires a minimum of 11,000 cubic metres of oxygen daily but was left with just 200 cubic metres when a tanker with 1.5 tonnes of oxygen arrived at 11.35 am, officials said.
“Patients are suffering. We feel sad to see people bringing their oxygen cylinders. Hospital is approaching all authorities and nodal officers but no help is coming. Hundreds of calls made, nobody picking the calls,” hospital chairperson D S Rana said.
Saroj Hospital in north-west Delhi urged the kin of patients to take them to other healthcare facilities where oxygen was available.
The medical director of Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Suresh Kumar said the facility's oxygen stock can last up to eight hours. It is likely to be a few days before the crisis is resolved, he said.