Rajkot: Rajkot Civil Hospital and even private hospitals are continuing to operate amid anxiety owing to shortage in oxygen supply, resulting in many hospitals having to turn away new patients with oxygen requirements from its doorstep.
While the state government through a notification allowed all hospitals and nursing homes to start Covid facility without prior permission to solve the crisis for beds, there seem to be no takers because of the prevalent shortage.
According to Rajkot medical association (RMA) Rajkot’s requirement was 120 tonnes per day which increased to 200 tonnes per day with rise in number of patients especially severe cases requiring oxygen support. The only facilities at Shapar and Metoda that provide industrial oxygen is facing queue of hospital staff since the morning. The collector office had deputed Mamlatdar with police force to handle law and order situation.
A senior official from Rajkot Civil Hospital told TOI, “We get oxygen as per our requirement but only at the last moment when the tank is about to get empty. We are being pushed to the edge fearing loss of precious lives from want of oxygen if the trucks somehow get stuck in the traffic.”
According to sources few private hospitals have shot a letter to collector stating that they have opened Covid facilities at his request and now patients are about to die from want of oxygen. The collector had earlier requested many private hospitals to start Covid facility to meet the requirement for more beds.
RMA president, Dr Praful Kamani said, “We have been told that the situation will be solved in one day but currently hospitals are reluctant to admit new patients looking at the shortage of oxygen.”
Dr Hiren Kothari, who runs a Covid hospital said, “I have to ask patients clearly about the oxygen shortage, because I am also dependant on oxygen supply. How can I take entire responsibility to provide all the services?”
Congress leader Dr Hemang Vasavda said, “The situation is very grim, if anybody dies from want of oxygen, their angry relatives may ransack the hospital. Hence, many hospitals are asking the patients to arrange their own oxygen cylinders.”
District collector Remya Mohan and nodal officer Rahul Gupta could not be contacted for their comments despite several attempts.
Oxygen supply to Vapi hospitals denied
Surat: A group of doctors from eight hospitals of Vapi in Valsad district arrived at the Valsad district collector’s office on Thursday to make representation over lack of supply of oxygen cylinders. The doctors complained that they are not being allowed to receive supply by the district administration since they are not registered as Covid-19 hospital. “The district officers are not allowing oxygen suppliers to provide us cylinders as we are not registered as Covid-19 hospitals. The state government has announced on Wednesday that all hospitals and nursing homes can admit Covid-19 patients but local officials in Valsad are denying us,” said Dr Purshottam Patil of City Multispeciality Hospital, Vapi.
Shortage of Covid medicine too
According to hospitals and medical stores, they are facing Covid medicine shortage too for the past two days. Remdesivir is being provided centrally under regulation by the district administration, where injections are out of stock. Owner of a medical store owner on Vidhyanagar road, Hiren Thanki said, “We are also facing shortage of febilflu. Doctors prescribe the drug for high load viral patients. We get only 50 percent of the orders we place.”
Patients will be treated under the domes
With the queue of patients waiting for admission only growing longer outside the civil hospital, the hospital administration is creating a makeshift 200-bed facility under the dome in the ground itself to provide treatment to patients. Patients with mild symptoms will be sent for home isolation from the ground itself.