Six patients die at Amritsar hospital allegedly due to oxygen shortage; Punjab CM orders probe
Amritsar, Apr 24: Six patients died at a private hospital here on Saturday allegedly due to a shortage of oxygen, prompting the Punjab authorities to order a probe into the incident.
Five of the six patients were infected with COVID-19, the hospital said.
"Despite the district administration being repeatedly asked to extend help, no one turned up to do the needful," Sunil Devgan, chairman and managing director of Neelkant hospital where the deaths occurred, alleged.
"Six patients, including two women, died due to the shortage of oxygen," he claimed.
However, Medical Education Minister O P Soni refuted the charge and claimed that no proper information was given by the hospital about any shortage of oxygen.
A mere simple message was dropped in a WhatsApp group to the administration," he said.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner (DC) to initiate a thorough probe into the incident.
Singh also said the hospital prima facie seemed to have flouted orders given to all private hospitals facing oxygen shortage to shift their patients to government medical colleges.
The incident comes amid a deepening crisis over the scarcity of oxygen, vital to save critically ill COVID patients, with similar tragedies unfolding in hospitals in other parts of the country over the last few days.
Devgan claimed that after the death of patients, only five oxygen cylinders were supplied to the hospital.
The hospital chairman claimed that three main oxygen suppliers have said that government hospitals are being prioritised.
"Heavy police force has been deployed outside the oxygen units to prevent oxygen supply to private hospitals," Devgan alleged.
Of the six patients who died at the hospital on Saturday, two were from Gurdaspur, one from Tarn Taran district and the remaining three were from Amritsar.
The DC has set up a two-member committee, comprising a PCS officer, Dr Rajat Oberoi, who is also in-charge of the death analysis committee, and a civil surgeon from Amritsar, to probe the matter, an official spokesperson said.
The DC told reporters that oxygen was being supplied to private hospitals without any prejudice and that the government hospital here was also running short of oxygen supply on Friday night.
The DC said private hospitals had been told not to admit patients if they do not have oxygen and they should refer patients to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital.
Meanwhile, the opposition party SAD, while expressing shock at the incident, demanded from the Congress-led state government to fix responsibility for the tragedy.
In a statement, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia condemned the state government for allegedly leading the state into doom and despair .
Majithia demanded that the CM tell people why he has not been able to set his house in order despite advance warnings of the second wave of COVID and the need for more oxygen facilities, ventilators and ICUs.
It is clear that the chief minister has failed to lead from the front. He is content to shut himself in his farm house as the state burns, he alleged.
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Social media campaigns, flexboards won't decide who will be Kerala CM: Chennithala
New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, a CM hopeful, on Wednesday said that social media campaigns and putting up of flexboards wiill not be the deciding factors for selecting the chief minister of Kerala.
Chennithala made the remark in response to reporters queries in Delhi on the intense social media campaign in favour of V D Satheesan as CM on the ground that he led the UDF poll campaign from the front.
"Who should be CM is not decided based on social media campaigns or the flexboards put up by the supporters. It is decided by the high command in accordance with the procedure already in place.
"As part of that two party observers will reach Kerala by evening and they will speak to all the MLAs. After that, the party high command will take a decision," the senior Congress leader said.
He said that the high command will take the decision based on party interests and everyone will accept it.
Chennithala also rejected queries about whether the alleged contest within the party for the CM post will create any displeasure among the voters.
"There will be no displeasure among voters as there is no contest," he contended.
On whether there was a delay in announcing the CM for Kerala, Chennithala said that the chief minister has not been selected in the other state where polls were held.
"So, can it be said that there is a delay in the case of Kerala?" he asked.
He said that he was in Delhi for a meeting with Rahul Gandhi regarding finalisation of the DCC presidents in Maharashtra.
