J&K administration initiates probe into death of four COVID patients due to shortage of oxygen

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has initiated an inquiry into the death of four people allegedly due to shortage of medical oxygen at a private hospital here, officials said on Sunday.

Four people, including a woman, undergoing treatment at ASCOMS hospital for COVID-19, died last Saturday morning with one family alleging that the deaths were caused due to shortage of oxygen, a claim strongly denied by the administration as well as the hospital management.

Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education department, Atal Dulloo has appointed Divisional Commissioner, Jammu Raghav Langer as inquiry officer and asked him to probe into the circumstances leading to the deaths at Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences (ASCOMS) and hospital, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Divisional Commissioner has also constituted a three-member committee comprising director health services (Jammu), Director Industries and Commerce (Jammu), who is also member of a panel constituted last month to ensure adequate and timely supply of medical oxygen to hospitals, and Superintendent Engineer Mechanical Engineering department Jammu, the officials said.

The three-member committee was formed to assist the inquiry officer during the proceedings of the probe, they said.