Hospitals turn away new patients due to O2 paucity

Surat: On Monday, government hospitals in city were unable to admit new patients due to lack of beds and oxygen. Since morning a queue of ambulances was lined up outside the Surat Municipal Institute of Medical Education and Research (SMIMER). The main gate of the New Civil Hospital (NCH) on Ring Road too was closed for patients and their relatives.
The scene was much or less same at the Government Medical College (GMC), where patient’s entry was allowed from only one gate.
Since early hours on Monday those bringing patients were not allowed to enter from the main gate of NCH by the bouncers. They were asked to go back and no satisfactory reason was given for refusing the admission. Despite multiple attempts Dr Ragini Verma, superintendent of NCH, was not available for her comments.
Sources in NCH informed that they discontinued admitting new patients from Monday due to shortage of oxygen supply and beds. Only a few patients, brought by 108 ambulance, were admitted to the hospital.
Similarly, at SMIMER hospital a number of patients were denied admission. SMIMER stopped taking patients being referred from private hospitals or coming from out of the city limit.
“At SMIMER we have stopped taking patients brought from out of the city since a lot of patients are coming here from other places,” said Dr Ashish Naik, deputy commissioner (Health), SMIMER hospital.
Sources in SMC informed that senior government officials held a meeting and rationing of oxygen is planned at the government hospitals.
Mahadev Rathod, 30, a resident of Adajan, came in an ambulance and he was denied entry at SMIMER. He first went to a private hospital, then to an isolation centre in Althan and ultimately came to SMIMER. “I don’t know what will happen now,” a relative of Rathod told TOI.
Another patient, Rekha Tayde, 45, was brought to SMIMER from K P Sanghvi Hospital but she was not allowed entry into the hospital campus. “My mother was shifted to the trust-run hospital two days ago from SMIMER claiming that her condition is improving. Due to increasing health complications she needed a ventilator for which she was again referred to SMIMER,” said her son Sumit. He was trying to contact the doctor who was treating Tayde at SMIMER to get her admitted while the patient was waiting in an ambulance.
Similar was the situation at the majority of the private hospitals who have limited oxygen supply. The hospitals have stopped taking critical patients since they require ventilator support and it consumes a lot of oxygen.