Patient dies as oxygen supply ‘snapped’ by hospital staff

Rajkot: Death of a Covid-19 patient from Morbi died, reportedly after the oxygen supply to patients was snapped, triggered severe uproar in Jamnagar’s state-run GG Hospital, on Tuesday.
The 65-year-old deceased Chhagan Charola’s son and wife were fuming at the hospital staff, some of whom are even seen in the videos, admitting to have cut the supply following the order of superior.
“I desperately pleaded with the doctors not to reduce the oxygen supply. I fell at their feet. But they said they had orders from higher ups,” the victim’s wife Lila Charola said in a series of videos which were circulated by her son on social media.
They alleged that the hospital staff removed oxygen support of (65) around 10:30am on Tuesday in the presence of his wife.
Talking to TOI, his son Karan, a ceramic trader in Morbi said “They removed the oxygen support and my father died after struggling to breath for a few minutes in front of my mother. My mother noticed that a person came and suddenly stopped the oxygen supply.
Charola had tested positive on April 10 and was brought to GG hospital on April 14.
When contacted, Jamnagar district collector Ravi Shankar, denied that the oxygen supply was snapped.
“We have shortage of attendants, so some family members of the patients are giving voluntary service in the new wards. But they increase the oxygen supply to the patients during the night while the patients themselves increase the intake thinking that getting more oxygen, they will recover faster. If they do this, other patients suffer. Hence attendants regulate the oxygen as per requirement,” he told TOI.