Four Covid patients succumb at Jammu hospital as O2 runs low

HOSPITAL AUTHORITIES SAY THEY FACED SOME HICCUPS IN SUPPLY ON SATURDAY, VICTIMS’ KIN ALLEGE THEY WERE KEPT IN DARK ABOUT STATUS OF OXYGEN

JAMMU: Four Covid-19 patients died at Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences (ASCOMS) and Hospital, popularly known as Batra hospital, here on Saturday.

The victims’ family members created ruckus at the hospital, alleging shortage of oxygen and negligence of the management.

Those who lost their lives are Irshad Ahmad Hamal, Haider Ali, Manjeet Singh and Bitta Kumari Kher.though the J&K administration denied the allegations, ASCOMS principal Dr Pawan Malhotra admitted that the hospital faced some hiccups in oxygen supply on Saturday morning. “There was shortage of cylinders this morning. We had informed the government and it intervened. , We had tried to procure them last night. Our requirement is 350 cylinders per day and on Friday, we had 294,” said Dr Malhotra.

“We had apprised the government of the status of oxygen at the hospital on Friday. For the last three days, we have not been admitting Covid patients,” he said. Dr Malhotra said the kin of all four deceased were apprised of the serious condition of the patients and that they may not survive. “

He said Kher and Haider Ali had tested Covid negative, but their lungs had suffered extensive damage. “Their lungs were not functioning independently. Hamal and Manjeet Singh were Covid positive and they too, could not survive,” he added.

However, the families of the deceased patients said that the hospital kept them in dark about the status of oxygen supply. They also accused doctors and nursing staff at the Covid ward of negligence.

“Four deaths reported in Batra hospital Jammu occurred because of routine medical reasons, not because of shortage of oxygen,” said the J&K administration in a statement on its Twitter handle.