Karnataka: 4 more die at Kalaburagi hospital, administration claims no shortage of oxygen

KALABURAGI: Merely a day after nine deaths were reported at a hospital in Karnataka's Kalaburagi district due to shortage of oxygen, four more patients succumbed at a taluk hospital in Afzalpur area early on Tuesday as O2 cylinders did not arrive on time.
The district administration, however, claimed that patients died as they failed to respond to the treatment and the health department had ensured supply of medical oxygen to the government facility.
Deputy commissioner (DC) V V Jyothsna, during a press conference, claimed that Afzalpur hospital has sufficient number of cylinders and there was no shortage at all. Two male and two female patients who died were on oxygen support.
"Of the four deceased, two were confirmed Covid-19 patients. They died of other health complications. The taluk hospital had enough oxygen stock. If there was a shortage of oxygen, the hospital staff would have called us. But there was no shortage," she said.
However, Prashant Patil, an advocate from Afzalpur, whose client' brother was among the dead, said the DC' claims were far from the truth.
Patil said there was oxygen at the hospital in the evening. But during the late hours, the hospital ran out of its oxygen stock.
The hospital was expecting oxygen supply during the late hours but cylinders did not arrive. All the four patients were desperately in need of oxygen support. They died in the morning, Patil said.
Afzalpur taluk health officer Ratnakar Toran claimed that earlier, he had mistakenly said that the deaths were caused due to lack of oxygen supply.
"I made the statement by mistake. But the patients were on oxygen support. There was no shortage," Toran claimed.
Chittapur MLA and former minister Priyank Kharge said one of the family members reached out to him.
The family member complained that the patient died due to lack of medical oxygen. He also alleged that the cylinders are being pushed into black market due which district is facing shortage.
On Tuesday morning, the Kalaburagi district police booked Vijay Oxy and Indl Gases for supplying oxygen cylinders illegally to hospitals outside the state.