New Delhi: At least 20 critical COVID infected patients died last night at the Jaipur Golden Hospital here due to alleged shortage of life-saving oxygen gas, sources in the hospital said on Saturday.
The incident comes just a day after when at least 20 people lost their lives at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here due to the 'same reason'.
The sources said the oxygen shortage still persists in the JG hospital and the gas pipelines can dry out at any moment. The hospital has raised an alarm and also shared its ordeal on social media platforms.
Another hospital--Saroj Hospital in Rohini-- has stopped admitting patients due to the severe shortage of oxygen gas. "All the beds have been occupied. Moreover, there is a severe shortage of oxygen. We are forced to close new admissions," a source told UNI over the phone.
The Hospital had on Thursday approached the Delhi High Court seeking urgent directions to facilitate oxygen supply to it.
The situation still remains critical. "We have very little oxygen left. Inox is not responding. We may have to ask patients to leave and make their own arrangements," the Director of the hospital told a TV channel. The hospital currently has 141 inpatients.
Maharaja Agrasen Hospital in Punjabi Bagh is also facing a similar crisis and had approached the Delhi High Court. The hearing was going on at the time of filing of the report.
Apart from the dearth of oxygen gas, there is also a shortage of ICU beds in the national capital. An official at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital (LNJP) in central Delhi told UNI that there is no vacant ICU bed for the past few days. "Also, the oxygen stock that we have can last only eight hours," the source added.
People across the national capital are scrabbling for life-saving oxygen supplies and beds in hospitals. The unpredictable spread of COVID-19 infection and hospitalisation have created havoc.
As per the Delhi government's official COVID website, the LNJP hospital is having 400 ICU beds and all are occupied.
The data at 1200 hrs showed that only 29 COVID-19 ICU beds and 1,735 COVID-19 non-ICU beds were available across hospitals in Delhi.
Of the 29 ICU vacant beds, five are available at AIIMS Trauma Centre, 10 at Metro Hospital, Preet Vihar, 11 at Madhukar Rainbow Children Hospital while three at Mansaram Hospital, Nangloi.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterparts in other States to help Delhi in coming out of the crisis.Delhi does not even a single oxygen plant and completely dependent on supplies from other states.(UNI)