Oxygen outage at Rims Covid ward ‘kills’ patient

The oxygen supply at the Covid-19 ward of the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) got disrupted on Tuesday night, putting at risk the lives of some 20 patients and reportedly killing one. The hospital authorities, however, have claimed that no patient died owing to the supply disruption.
According to hospital sources, oxygen supply at the New Trauma Centre of Rims stopped abruptly around 11pm on Tuesday after the main oxygen cylinder ran dry. The Covid-19 ICU is located on the third floor of the building.

Hospital authorities said that there were around 20 critical patients at the Covid-19 ward and they require high-flow oxygen support, and if the supply of oxygen gets disrupted for more than 15 minutes then it can prove fatal. “A major incident was averted owing to Dr Bhattacharya’s presence of mind. The situation could have gone out of control had he not ensured alternative arrangements within such a short span of time,” said a junior doctor who was on duty at the ICU.