Hospitals in the national capital are in dire of oxygen cylinders as Covid cases have shot up in Delhi. Hospitals with Covid infected patients continue to raise the alarm over shortage of oxygen and are constantly sending out SOS calls to the Delhi government and the Centre.
Many private and government hospitals in Delhi have informed the state government about the oxygen stock for coronavirus patients.
On Wednesday night, the oxygen shortage in GTB hospital put the entire Delhi Government on its toes, however, the crisis was averted with support from other hospitals.
As per the Delhi Government’s data (till 5 p.m., Thursday), most of the government-run hospitals have oxygen stock for less than 24 hours.
Among the big Delhi government-run hospitals, Ambedkar Nagar hospital is the only one that has oxygen stock for the next 24 hours. The other major Covid dedicated hospitals such as Burari Hospital, DDU Hospital, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital, and GTB hospital have oxygen stocks for only 12-15 hours.
Similarly, private hospitals like BLK Hospital (Pusa Road), Holy Family Hospital (Okhla), Max Hospital (Patparganj), St. Stephens Hospital, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Max (Shalimar Bagh)- all have oxygen stock for Covid-19 patients for less than 24 hours.
Many private hospitals have started appealing to the administration to get oxygen supply through social media also.
Here’s the list of private and government hospitals that are facing an acute shortage of oxygen supply currently:
- Ambedkar Nagar Hospital – 24 hours
- Burari Hospital – 7 hours
- Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital – 6 hours
- Deep Chand Bandhu Hospital – 8 to 10 hours
- Dr. Baba Sahed Ambedkar Hospital – 4 hours
- GTB Hospital – 8 hours
- Rajeev Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital – 11 hours
- Private hospitals in Delhi and the stock of oxygen they are left with:
- BLK Hospital, Pusa Road – 4 hours
- Holy Family Hospital, Okhla – 2.5 hours
- Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, Sarita Vihar – 4 hours
- Max Super Specialty Hospital, Patparganj – 4 hours
- Max Super Specialty Hospital, Shalimar Bagh – 18 hours
- Rathi Hospital – Exhausted
- Santom Hospital – Exhausted
- Sh. Venkateshwara Hospital, Dwarka – 5 hours
- Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Rajinder Nagar – 5 hours
- Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, Paschim Vihar – 5 hours
- St. Stephen’s Hospital, Tiz Hazari – 18 hours
- Saroj Super Speciality Hospital – Exhausted
- Shanti Mukund Hospital – Exhausted
- Tirath Ram Shah Hospital – Exhausted
- UK Nursing Home – Exhausted
Delhi government knocks on Centre’s door for help
The Delhi government stated on Wednesday that the city is gasping for oxygen for the last over 50 hours. The healthcare system of the Delhi government has been on its toes since the last few days with Delhi battling for beds to accommodate the increasing Covid infected patients daily.
Not only the hospitals but the state government too, including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been raising the issue of oxygen shortage.
Lacking its own resources of oxygen, the state government amid a flood of complaints of oxygen shortage continued to knock on the Centre’s door for beds and now for oxygen supply.
As per the Delhi Government, the Centre has increased Delhi’s oxygen quota from 378 MT to 480 MT. However, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday during a press conference said, “On Wednesday, hospitals in Delhi faced a crisis because out of the 378 MT oxygen sanctioned to Delhi by the Centre, only 177 MT was received. The UP government did not allow oxygen-loaded trucks to enter an oxygen plant there, which resulted in an emergency situation in many hospitals in Delhi.”
Sisodia, who also looks after Covid-19 management as the nodal minister, said on Thursday that the administration is getting calls from hospitals day and night regarding the shortage of oxygen.
Small hospitals grappling with limited oxygen supply for Covid patients
Several small hospitals in the city also struggled to replenish the oxygen supply for coronavirus patients on Thursday morning, even as some big healthcare facilities received fresh stock overnight.
The administration at Shanti Mukund Hospital, a 200-bed facility in East Delhi, put up a notice at the entry gate, reading: “We regret we are stopping admission in the hospital because oxygen supply isn’t coming.”
However, several private hospitals complained their supplier has not been responding to calls, forcing them to use their backups.
Officials at Saroj Hospital in Rohini said they have run out of oxygen supply.
“The backup, too, won’t last long. Of the 120 patients in the hospital at present, 70 are in a critical condition,” an official said, adding that many lives will be lost if the oxygen supply did not reach the hospital in time.
An official from Shanti Mukund Hospital told PTI they have not been able to get in touch with their oxygen supplier.
“There are 110 coronavirus patients in the hospital right now. We have no option but to send patients to other hospitals,” he said.
Dr Sanjeev Sharma, chief operating officer at Delhi Heart and Lung Institute, said their oxygen stock will last till 4 pm.
“Supplier provided the last refill in the morning; we are on our own. A total of 71 patients are on O2 support,” he said.
Officials at the 210-bed Mata Chanan Devi Hospital sent an SOS to the Delhi government as their “oxygen supplier didn’t fulfill commitments”.
“Around 40 patients are in ICU. We got 500 kg oxygen last night. The supplier was supposed to give more at 4 am, but they have not been picking up calls since then,” ICU Head Dr A C Shukla said.
“With the Delhi government’s intervention, we have got 21 D-type cylinders, but a continuous supply is needed. The situation is very serious,” he added.
Dr Pankaj Solanki, who runs the 50-bed Dharamveer Solanki Hospital, said the hospital is using the “backup” which will last till Thursday afternoon. He had informed officials concerned to transfer out 30 patients.
“The oxygen crisis is at its worst. It is adding more pressure on the functioning. No one is able to help,” his tweet read. Meanwhile, some hospitals received fresh stock overnight and more is likely to come in soon.
Dr Suresh Kumar, the medical director at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, said three tankers carrying oxygen reached the facility last night.
“At 8:30 am, we have around 8 hours of oxygen left. More is coming,” he told PTI. An official at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said supply was replenished around 6 am. “The stock will last till 10 am Friday. Supply from a private vendor is awaited,” he said.
Officials at the Burari Hospital said they have “sufficient stock” till afternoon.
With PTI inputs
