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Delhi

Day 4 of oxygen crisis brings city hospitals to their knees

Day 4 of oxygen crisis brings city hospitals to their knees
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New Delhi: The oxygen situation at various hospitals was grim on Friday as administrations kept sending SOS messages regarding the shortage of oxygen even as patients kept on coming. Delhi hospitals have been witnessing a major shortage of oxygen where patients are dying outside the emergency halls without getting admitted.

Delhi's one of the major private hospitals, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital has witnessed more than 25 deaths since Thursday. At the hospital patients were seen outside the covid ward waiting to get admitted. Shubho's father was lying in his car waiting for his turn to get a ventilator bed. "He is a kidney patient as well and we have been waiting here for more than an hour but have been told there is no bed. We have traveled from far away, which is why traveling to a different hospital will be difficult," he told Millennium Post.

Meanwhile, families of those patients who died of Covid-19 were waiting for the bodies of their loved ones. In shock and grief they just said that they died gasping for breath. "He had even tested negative then how did this happen," wailed a daughter.

The hospital PRO Ajoy Sehgal confirmed that there are about 500 covid patients and 140 on high flow of oxygen. The hospital at 9 pm said the consumption dynamic is about 800, which might last the night.

Meanwhile, Holy Family Hospital which was struggling with the oxygen supply was sent an emergency truck in the afternoon. However, the hospital has been witnessing a regular flow of patients with no beds available. "Even if we get oxygen what shall we do about the bed situation? We are taking the patients in but there are no beds. We are just trying our best," a nurse outside the hospital said.

Patients were struggling to get a ventilator bed at the hospital even as hospital tried to accommodate the flow of patients. Non-covid patients were on the other hand asked to leave or sent to the other hospital.

By 9 pm Metro Hospital at Lajpat Nagar had asked patients to evacuate while patients were being asked to arrange their own oxygen cylinders. Officials confirmed that hospital will run out of supply in 5-6 hours.

Indian Spinal Injuries Centre at Vasant Kunj also sent a SOS message where it said that they will barely be able to make it by night.

"Authorities are not contacting or are bothered anymore. We have sent ambulances to go and find oxygen cylinders. The situation is so dire that we have to go and ask for cylinders," Dr. K Preetham, Additional Chief of Medical Administration at Indian Spinal Injuries Centre said.

He confirmed that they have 18 litres of oxygen left which will last till the night. "Some people have shifted to the central line so that we can somehow manage to provide oxygen. If I don't get liquid oxygen then there would be no oxygen left. But at this moment if we could only get oxygen cylinders we would be able to use it on a few patients together," Dr. Preetham.

Batra Hospital, which had moved court on Friday, said that they were refused oxygen. "Inox has refused to give us LMO supply beyond 1.7 tons they supplied at 2 pm. We may entirely run out of O2 by 8-8:30 pm. Need at least 6 tons till we get supply tomorrow at noon," Sudhanshu Bankata, Executive Director at the hospital said. He added that they have around 300 covid patients. Hospital authorities have also alerted the police, in case there is a law and order situation.

While other hospitals are on the brim of getting their oxygen supply over and have reached out to concerned authorities for the same. "We have succeeded to manage the time by refilling our Oxygen cylinders from various small vendors in Delhi. We have just received a liquid oxygen tanker which will last for 14 hours," Dr. Kousar A Shah, COO - Aakash Healthcare said.

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