O2 crisis continues, delays admission

LUCKNOW: Hospitals across the state capital kept on making SoS calls for oxygen on Friday while many of them stopped admission, leaving patients and their attendants in panic.

For the third consecutive day, hospitals kept asking attendants of admitted Covid and non-Covid patients to get them discharged to reduce the burden on the oxygen stock. “I had 12 patients and two got discharged. But I have not admitted any new patient as the oxygen stock is still on the lower side,” said owner of a hospital in Gomti Nagar.

Several hospitals got the cylinders in police escort from the agencies while serpentine queue of family members at oxygen filling stations was also seen to get cylinders filled at individual levels. “There is risk now and agencies are asking for security,” said manager of a private hospital where cylinders reached under supervision of the cops.

“When oxygen was left for just 2 hours today and my staff was in the queue at a filling station, a friend called up promising one cylinder. I felt as if God had come to save my patients on oxygen support,” said Dr Salman Khalid of Fehmina Hospital and Trauma Centre. For attendants too, it is a tough time. “I stood in the queue for five hours, showing the doctor’s prescription and urgency after which I managed one cylinder. Don’t know about the next day as my brother is serious,” said an attendant, who did not wish to be named.

In Lucknow, at least 1000 Covid and non-Covid patients are in need of oxygen. Lucknow has six firms to supply oxygen and daily strength is up to 5040 jumbo cylinders while the need is up to 9000 cylinders. Though KGMU, PGI and Lohia institute have 20000-litre capacity liquid oxygen tank, the pressure is there too. “Our daily requirement for Covid patients alone has gone up to 2500 litre per day,” said Dr Srikesh Singh, spokesperson for RMLIMS.

The institute has 200 bed Covid facility and 50 beds are in isolation where serious patients with RT PCR reported awaited are admitted. Here at least 200 cylinders are required daily.

The private hospital in Indira Nagar, where two patients had died when oxygen pressure went low as the jumbo cylinders could not be filled on time, remains under crisis even on Friday, despite having oxygen concentrators. Several hospitals have stopped new admissions and put up notices to this effect.