2 Delhi hospitals send SOS amid oxygen shortage

Two hospitals in Delhi have sent out desperate SOS calls to authorities due to acute shortage of oxygen amid the rise in COVID-19 cases. Madhukar Rainbow Children’s Hospital in Maviya sounded an alarm about shortage in stocks on Sunday afternoon, saying 50 people, including 4 newborns, were at risk.

A hospital official said that there are 80 patients, including the people who are suffering from COVID-19 and 15 newborns.

The hospital got its oxygen cylinders from a private vendor as they do not have a liquid oxygen storage.

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The official said that there was a daily fight over the oxygen supply and they require around 125 oxygen cylinders a day.

The hospital also took to Twitter seeking help from authorities.

AAP MLA Raghav Chadha tweeted in reply: “We have arranged five D Type oxygen cylinders for Rainbow Children’s Hospital, from our Rajghat Response Point. The Govt’s oxygen reserves are extremely limited due to reduced oxygen supply to Delhi, but we are doing everything possible to avert any untoward incident.” Dr Deepali Gupta from Triton Hospital in Kalkaji said they have been struggling to arrange oxygen for their neonatal intensive care unit.

“We have been scrambling for oxygen for over a week. A major tragedy may occur if a continuous supply is not ensured soon,” she said. AAP leader Chadha also said the government has issued 5 D-type cylinders to the hospital from Rajghat Response Point.

“Hospital officials are on their way to collect it. Sincerely hope that oxygen supply chains of hospitals get restored quickly for this fire-fighting is unsustainable,” he tweeted.

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On Saturday, 12 COVID-19 patients, including a senior doctor, had died at south Delhi’s Batra Hospital after the facility ran out of medical oxygen for around 80 minutes in the afternoon.

The tragic incident occurred in less than two weeks of twenty coronavirus patients dying at Jaipur Golden Hospital and 25 at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital amid oxygen crises in the national capital.

Several hospitals in Delhi continue to grapple with a shortage of oxygen, as coronavirus cases continue to spike every passing day.

The Delhi government has been demanding 976 metric tonnes of oxygen from the Centre against the existing allotted 490 MT quota.

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On Friday, the city administration received just 312 MT, an official said.

According to official data, Delhi had got 305 metric tonnes of oxygen on April 25, followed by 408 MT on April 26, 398 MT on April 27, 431MT on April 28 and 409 MT on April 29.