Oxygen tanker reaches Delhi’s GTB Hospital
Some major government and private hospitals in Delhi received a fresh stock of medical oxygen in the early hours of Wednesday, averting a crisis just in time, according to officials. Gangaram Hospital received 5,000 cubic meters of oxygen supply from a private vendor before 3 am. This stock should last till Wednesday afternoon. The supply from another oxygen firm is still awaited, sources said.
An official at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital confirmed that a truck carrying oxygen from a firm reached them around 1:30 am.
Dr. Suresh Kumar, medical director of the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, said a truck carrying oxygen from a vendor reached the facility around 3 am.
Ambedkar Hospital received a fresh supply of oxygen at 5 am which officials said can last 24 hours.
Earlier on Tuesday late evening, Jain had said that the GTB Hospital will run out of stock in the next few hours and pleaded with the Centre to make necessary arrangements. According to details, the oxygen supply at the hospital was not expected to last beyond 2 AM.
Oxygen shortage at Delhi hospitals
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday had urged the Centre "with folded hands" to provide medical oxygen to Delhi and his deputy Manish Sisodia said there will be chaos in the city if the stocks are not replenished by Wednesday morning. ICU beds in Delhi hospitals were also filling up fast amid a surge in coronavirus infections.
Only 30 of them were available for coronavirus patients in government and private hospitals across the national capital at 10 pm, according to data from the city government's Delhi Corona app.
"Serious oxygen crisis persists in Delhi," Kejriwal had tweeted, adding some hospitals are left with just a few hours of stock.
In another tweet, he said, "I urge the Central government with folded hands to urgently provide oxygen to Delhi."
"Most hospitals in Delhi have only eight to 12 hours of oxygen left. We have been asking the Centre to increase its supply for the last seven days.
There will be chaos in Delhi if hospitals do not get enough oxygen by Wednesday morning," Sisodia tweeted in Hindi.
He also posted a note on Twitter mentioning the status of oxygen stock in various hospitals.
Earlier on Monday, the Delhi government had set up a 24-member committee to ensure the "rational" use of oxygen for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. An order issued by the Health Department said the 'Oxygen Audit Committee' will identify areas of wasteful consumption.
The consumption of oxygen has undergone a quantum increase with the admission of a large number of serious patients who require oxygen support, it said.
