The widespread crisis of Oxygen supply in Delhi has now hit one of the largest private hospitals in the national capital. The Indraprastha Apollo Hospital informed on Wednesday that it has only 10-12 hours of oxygen supply available for over 350 oxygen-dependent Covid-19 patients admitted there with no alternative at hand.
“The hospital has been receiving multiple queries from many quarters on the availability of medical oxygen supply for its patients. In this regard, we would like to highlight that currently, only 10-12 hours of oxygen supply is available for all our patients with no alternatives,” P Shivakumar, managing director of the hospital stated.
He also said that the hospital is facing disruption in Oxygen supply for over a week now. “This level is dangerously low with supply chain disruptions and delays being witnessed over the past week,” Shivakumar added.
The hospital also informed that it has urged the central and state governments to ensure uninterrupted supply to avert any catastrophic patient-related incident.
“The continuation of this disrupted or delayed supply will have serious ramifications for our patients, especially the over 350 oxygen dependent Covid-19 patients. We are working closely with the state and district administration, along with our suppliers, to improve the availability and timeliness of delivery. We strongly urge all the State Governments and the Centre to assist us in ensuring uninterrupted supply in order to avert any catastrophic patient-related incident,” Shivakumar said.
Panic has ensued across Delhi hospitals as the health infrastructure gasps for breath in dearth of oxygen supply.
The national capital, which is struggling to manage an unprecedented surge of Covid, has been flagging a serious shortage of oxygen. Yesterday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had listed a number of private and government-run hospitals that are running low.
Two more Delhi hospitals have also flagged a critical shortage of oxygen and said the Haryana government has blocked the tankers at the border. Holy Family Hospital and Sir Irene Hospital said their supplies will last a few hours.
On Tuesday, three key hospitals in Delhi were down to just hours’ supply of oxygen. The GTB hospital had just four hours’ supply, Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain tweeted hours after Max hospital and Ganga Ram hospital flagged their shortage.