Oxygen scarcity in Amritsar hospitals: Doctors had flagged danger on Friday itself

Neelkanth was not the one hospital going through an oxygen emergency the evening six individuals died gasping for breath in Amritsar. Guru Nanak Dev Hospital underneath the Government Medical College, Medicity and another non-public hospitals had been additionally going through an oxygen scarcity on April 23 evening.
Though the Minister of Medical Education in Punjab, O P Soni, shifted your complete blame for the tragedy on the Neelkanth Hospital, he himself admitted, “Last night, there was oxygen emergency at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital and Medicity. I was awake till 1 am arranging for oxygen and remained in touch with Chief Secretary till it was arranged.”
The minister, nonetheless, claimed he had no data of the scarcity at Neelkanth.
Deputy Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khira additionally admitted to the oxygen emergency.
“There was a crisis last night and we used our ambulances to arrange cylinders,” mentioned the DC, whereas sustaining that the administration was unaware in regards to the scenario at Neelkanth.
Interestingly, on Friday, a delegation of IMA Amritsar, comprising president Dr Amandeep Kaur, State IMA president Dr Okay S Arora, secretary Dr J S Grover, Dr Nayyar, and Dr Ashok Mahajan had offered a memorandum to the DC in regards to the worsening oxygen provide to non-public hospitals.

The medical doctors requested the DC to make sure uninterrupted provide of oxygen and life saving medicine, and warned that if this isn’t accomplished, non-public hospitals will probably be compelled to show away critical Covid sufferers.
Sources mentioned non-public hospitals had been discovering it troublesome to rearrange oxygen ever since Government Medical College (GMC) confronted an oxygen emergency on April 19.
“The district administration wanted to avoid a repeat of April 19 at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, so it took all three oxygen vendors in Amritsar under its control. We were not receiving oxygen and it is the reason that a delegation met the DC on Friday. However, it was too late and tragedy hit Neelkanth Hospital,” mentioned an office-bearer of IMA Amritsar.
The DC, when contacted, mentioned, “We have oxygen suppliers from Uttrakhand and Panipat besides the local suppliers. Some people are hoarding oxygen, other are saving it for future. We had asked private hospitals to keep us updated about oxygen situation at their hospitals during the Friday meeting.”