Delhi: Panel to look into ex-gratia pleas of kin of those lost to O2 crunch

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Monday kicked off the procedure to grant up to Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia to the family of patients who died due to a lack of oxygen in the second wave of the pandemic by setting up a committee to investigate complaints in this regard. The committee will assess complaints on a case-by-case basis and grant the ex-gratia over and above the no-fault ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 already ordered by the government.

But even as this order was issued, eight families that lost loved ones due to oxygen shortage at the Jaipur Golden Hospital here on April 23 and 24 have now approached the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of a Delhi government report that said the 21 deaths at the hospital had not occurred due to a shortage of medical oxygen. They have also sought a CBI probe in the matter.

The Delhi government's report came despite hospital officials and doctors confirming on the day of the deaths that the patients had died due to low pressure of medical oxygen because of insufficient stocks.

The eight petitioners also sought a court-monitored CBI probe into the matter and alleged that the deaths had occurred due to "deliberate inaction and failure" of authorities named as respondents in the case. In addition, the plea has sought directions to secure all records at the hospital related to the demand and supply of medical oxygen, CCTV footage, and compensation amounts awarded to families, according to news reports.

Meanwhile, the Delhi government has appointed Dr Naresh Kumar, Director-Professor (Medicine), (Lok Nayak Hospital) LNH and (Maulana Azad Medical College) MAMC, Dr Amit Kohli, senior Anesthetist (LNH), Dr Sanjeev Kumar, Specialist Anesthesia, (Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital) LBSH, Surender Kumar, Assistant Director, Planning, DGHS (HQ), Dr AC Shukla, Medical Superintendent, Mata Chanan Devi Hospital, Janak Puri, and Dr JP Singh, Medical Superintendent, Tirath Ram Hospital, Civil Lines, to the Committee that will now assess the compensation claims for those who died due to oxygen shortage.

The Delhi government order also states that the Committee will have to follow certain terms and conditions. The Committee will receive all complaints and representations (online as well as offline mode) at Nursing Home Cell, DGHS. The Committee will meet at least twice a week either physically or through video conference at a fixed time.

The Committee will be empowered to seek any documents from the concerned hospital including records of oxygen supply, storage and stock position.

The Committee will check whether the oxygen was being used properly in the hospital as per the norms, and the steps taken by the hospital for maintaining sufficient oxygen stock with respect to the patients admitted there. The Committee would draw up objective criteria to award compensation, limited to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh in each case. This Committee will remain functional till further orders and will submit a report to the Pr. Secretary (H&FW), GNCTD, on a weekly basis.

During the ferocious second wave of the pandemic, the city saw an acute shortage of medical oxygen across hospitals for weeks. In this time, at least as many as 32 Covid-19 patients, admitted to hospitals had died with doctors saying they could have saved them if they had oxygen. Of course, this does not include the hundreds of patients and suspects who died looking for oxygen at home, those who succumbed, gasping for breath outside hospital emergency wards.

(With inputs from Chhavianshika Singh)