Delhi can’t breathe easy as oxygen supply still falling short

NEW DELHI: On Tuesday morning, Gupta Hospital in Vivek Vihar sent an SOS that it had oxygen only for two more hours. Batra Hospital and Indian Spinal Injuries Institute too complained of inconsistent gas supply. Clearly, oxygen supplies for city hospitals are yet to be streamlined despite the crisis having created a national hubbub.
Gandhi Hospital in Uttam Nagar was desperate around 4.30pm with just an hour of oxygen left.It has over 60 Covid-positive patients, of whom 36 are in ICU. “Our supplier himself got affected and is admitted in the hospital. We have been sending our vans with cylinders for refilling, but the queue is long,” said Alisha Gandhi, who is in charge of gas requirements. “Our requirement is around 150 cylinders per day, but we have been having a difficult time in the last five days. The hospital is admitting patients, but only those who don’t require oxygen.”
For a couple of hours on Tuesday, Panchsheel Hospital in Yamuna Vihar, a 50-bedded facility, did not have oxygen stocks. Hospital director Dr V K Goyal told TOI, “Our vendor in Ghaziabad informed us on Tuesday afternoon that he couldn’t send us gas due to a shortage there. I called up all my resources and, not finding any help, informed the authorities at 2.30pm. I send out ambulances holding 6-8 cylinders for refilling. But this is a time-consuming and lives are at risk.”
The additional district magistrate of North-East district later put the hospital on notice. The notice, a copy of which is with TOI, states, “It has come to our notice that Panchsheel Hospital, which is a designated Covid hospital, has not been keeping adequate oxygen so far and, therefore, put the safety of patients in peril. This is a violation of the orders of the competent authority regarding use of oxygen in designated Covid facilities. You are hereby directed to immediately scale up the oxygen storage facilities on par with beds. In case of failure to comply, action will be taken against you.”
Goyal was crestfallen. “I try to refill the cylinders but this takes 8-10 hours. What can I do when there is no other way to manage the shortage?” he said.
Shanti Mukund Hospital in Karkardooma had a peculiar problem. “Our suppliers were changed,” explained Sunil Kumar Saggar, CEO. “When I called our supplier, he said I should call a new supplier who had been assigned to supply our hospital now. I accordingly called the second supplier, to whom the old oxygen order from the hospital hadn’t been forwarded from the original supplier. I told both of them that the lives of patients were at stake and they would be held responsible. Finally, my original supplier delivered the gas, but won’t from Wednesday.”
At Indian Spinal Injuries Centre Tuesday was no different from the troubled Monday. “We have been sending cylinders for refilling, but everything is uncertain. Perhaps by the evening we will receive replenishments, but we need consistent supply to function properly,” said a doctor at the hospital.
Batra Hospital received some supplies. “We actually need more than what we are receiving,” claimed a doctor there. “We need consistency, because every 24 hours we are struggling for oxygen. There is just one government nodal officer and it is difficult for him because he has to listen to 400-odd hospitals calling him all at the same time.”