Shortage of oxygen supply claims lives of 12 Covid patients in MP's Shahdol

Twelve COVID-19 patients died at a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol allegedly due to a shortage in oxygen supply.

The incident took place at the Government Medical College Hospital in Shahdol on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday.

“Out of 62 patients admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward of the medical college’s COVID-19 centre, six patients died due to low pressure of liquid oxygen late last night,” the facility’s dean, Dr Milind Shiralkar, said.

“Experts have been called and the causes are being ascertained,” he added.

Shiralkar said the liquid oxygen supply at the hospital was running out by late Saturday evening.

Suppliers were being contacted constantly, but the vehicle did not reach till late night, due to which the pressure of oxygen supplied to the patients was reduced, he said.

The official said there was shortage of oxygen supply since the last few days.

The oxygen plant on the campus has a storage capacity of 10 kilo litres per day, the official said, adding that liquid oxygen is brought from other states.

On Sunday, reports of six more deaths emerged from the same hospital due to shortage in oxygen taking the death toll to 12.

However, Shahdol DM Satendra Singh denied the reports that the COVID patients died do to oxygen shortage. “Nobody died of oxygen shortage. Only six deaths were reported till 8 am. They were critical due to comorbidities. We have sufficient supply of oxygen,” he said.

Meanwhile, Madhya Pradesh Medical Education Minister Vishwas Sarang said he spoke to the hospital’s dean who claimed the patients died as they were critical and not due to oxygen shortage.

“Spoke to medical college’s dean and learnt that they didn’t die due to oxygen shortage. They were in critical situation.

Had it been due to oxygen shortage, other patients on ventilator would have also suffered. However, we will run inquiry,” Vishwas Sarang said

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday said that the state has adequate supply of oxygen cylinders. "We have got 350 metric tonnes of oxygen, whereas consumption has been 335 metric tonnes. We are also making local arrangements - 1,293 oxygen concentrators have been installed in all the districts.

As per the union health ministry, there are currently 59,183 active cases in Madhya Pradesh. So far, 3,20,955 recoveries and 4,425 deaths have been reported in the state.