Oxygen shortage: Kin say hospitals turning away Covid patients

Gurgaon: Several city hospitals stopped admitting Covid patients on Wednesday or asked families to shift their patients elsewhere because of unavailability of oxygen, residents have complained.
Most Covid facilities have been struggling with irregular supply for more than a week now. On Tuesday, the district administration had issued an order asking smaller hospitals not to take in critical patients if they do not have adequate oxygen support.
Now, the Centre has increased oxygen allotment for Haryana from 162 metric tonnes daily to 232 metric tonnes and Gurgaon will get an additional 30-tonne supply daily from the quota, sources said. Currently, the district is allotted 35 metric tonnes of oxygen per day, whereas it has a demand of around 55 metric tonnes.
While residents had a tough time finding hospital beds, some facilities turned away patients. Lalit Rana said he had been looking for a bed since Wednesday morning to admit his wife who was having trouble breathing. “I have been to all hospitals. My wife’s oxygen level is dipping fast and she needs treatment. But many hospitals are denying admission,” he told TOI.
Ravin Kumar, a resident of Sector 9, said the private hospital in which his father is admitted has been asking them to shift him elsewhere.
“My father is in a private hospital on Khandsa Road and the management is putting pressure on us and asking us to take him to some other hospital. They are saying they are not getting enough oxygen. How can I take him to a different hospital now? There is no vacant ICU bed,” he said on Wednesday afternoon.
Dr Yogesh Shama from Aarvy Hospital in Sector 90 said the current demand is five to six times higher than what it used to be. “We are not getting regular supply and managing patients is becoming tough for us,” he said.
Asked about the situation, officials in the district administration said that they are working towards ensuring that hospitals get oxygen supply at the earliest. “As soon as we get an update, we try to provide oxygen to hospitals,” said Dr Yash Garg, deputy commissioner, Gurgaon.
In an attempt to streamline the supply, MCG commissioner issued an order on Wednesday stating that hospitals and nursing homes located outside the district will not be allowed to refill oxygen in Gurgaon from now.
On Wednesday, state health minister Anil Vij tweeted about the increased allotment for the state. “Trying to Air Lift increased the quota of Medical Oxygen from Orissa. Formalities are almost complete. If everything goes normal Haryana will get relief soon. The Government of India has increased our Quota from 162 MT to 232 MT (sic),” his tweet said.