Ganga Ram Hospital waiting for 3 days to refill oxygen cylinders used while transporting patients

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi has been waiting for three days to refill its oxygen cylinders, which are used while transporting critically ill Covid patients, and is currently on beg and borrow mode, sources said on Monday.

They said the hospital has, however, received 10 tonnes of liquid oxygen around 11.40 am. In the morning, the hospital said it has 4,000 cubic metres of oxygen left which would last for eight hours.

The hospital has 104 oxygen cylinders which are used while moving extremely sick Covid patients in case of emergency which is happening quite frequently now, an official said.

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"All the cylinders were sent three days ago to different locations for emergency refill. For the last three days our staff is camping there but to no avail," he said.

The official added the elite hospital is on "beg and borrow" mode.

"The hospital has arranged two cylinders which are also going to empty quickly," a source said, adding it is getting extremely difficult and risky to shift patients.

Sir Ganga Ram Hospital requires a minimum of 11,000 cubic meter liquid oxygen daily and has a consumption of 10,000 cubic meter per day.

By 11.40 am, a tanker with 10 tonnes of oxygen was sent from Jindal Steel plant in Rourkela by industrialist Naveen Jindal for the hospital, it said.

The vehicle took more than 48 hours to reach Sir Ganga Ram Hospital.

It had on Friday reported the death of 25 of its "sickest" patients as the administration grappled with depleting oxygen supplies.