15 more Covid patients die at Goa hospital as oxygen dips again

PANAJI: Tragedy struck the Goa Medical College (GMC) yet again on Thursday, with 15 Covid-19 patients dying due to erratic supply of oxygen.
As many as 26 patients had died at the premier state-run hospital on Tuesday. A day after, on Wednesday, the Bombay high court had directed the Goa government to ensure that there are no more casualties at the hospital due to oxygen shortage.
There were also unconfirmed reports of some deaths on Wednesday.
“The oxygen interruptions are causing problems leading to deaths. Last night, the interruption that was caused between midnight and 8am caused 15 deaths,” GMC nodal officer Dr Viraj Khandeparkar told the high court, which is hearing a PIL regarding oxygen shortage.
The horror unfolded around 1:25am on Thursday when relatives began making SOS calls saying that oxygen levels were dropping at GMC. Wards 143, 144, 145, 146 and 149 faced oxygen shortage.
With oxygen pressure dropping, the SPO2 levels of patients on ventilators also dipped. Doctors made frantic calls to GMC’s senior officials and to Scoop Industries, the company contracted to supply oxygen cylinders to GMC, asking for oxygen supply to be looked into. Their calls went unanswered.
“As far as piped oxygen is concerned, there was a dip in the night. There were small dips at least three-four times and one big dip of about half an hour,” GMC dean Dr S M Bandekar told the high court. Bandekar said the patients who succumbed during the period were those who had a high severity score.
Among the 15 who lost their lives in the early hours of Thursday was a couple. Their two young daughters were orphaned overnight.
The government, particularly health secretary Ravi Dhawan, insisted that the state had adequate oxygen and that the dip in supply was due to the changeover of oxygen cylinders and lack of trained drivers who could manoeuvre the cylinder trolley quickly.
Dhawan’s assertion that “there is no dearth as such of oxygen” and that the deaths took place because of “logistical issues” did not find favour with the HC, which said that the authorities were in “denial mode”.
“We are quite pained that such logistical issues should give rise to such serious consequences to Covid victims. We expect the state administration to find out ways and means to overcome these logistical issues, so that precious life is not lost on account of any deficiencies in the matter of supply of oxygen to the patients,” said Justices M S Sonak and Nitin W Sambre.
Dhawan pinned the blame on inexperienced tractor drivers. “Between 1:45am and 2am, the driver who was bringing in the trolley got stuck in the pathway and that pathway can bring only one tractor down in reverse. The oxygen manifold is in the basement of GMC and the driver got stuck for 10-15 minutes and therefore, the changeover time was extra,” said Dhawan.
The court said that the submissions made by the state were not appreciated. “These kinds of submissions are in the nature of a denial that the problem is elsewhere,” said Justice Sonak in an oral observation.
With the court taking a stern line, the government decided to appoint a committee to inquire into the oxygen supply issue that has plagued GMC for over two weeks. The three-member committee consists of IIT Goa director B K Mishra, former dean of GMC Dr V N Jindal and urban development secretary Tariq Thomas. The committee will ascertain the adequacy of the oxygen supply and recommend improvement in the delivery system at GMC.