Sangha blames oxygen crisis for rising fatalities

Shimla, November 23

Senior CPM leader and MLA Rakesh Singha has blamed the rising Covid death rate in the state to the lack of adequate oxygen supply in hospitals, especially at Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital in Shimla.

In a letter to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Singha said the daily requirement of oxygen at DDU Hospital was 15 lakh litres, but the avalability was just five lakh litres. “Under such circumstances, the death rate is bound to rise as many patients do not get the required oxygen to remain alive,” he wrote.

He said medical staff at DDU, the dedicated Covid hospital, needed to be strengthened at the earliest. “A minimum of 10 medical officers and 15 staff nurses shall be recruited on urgent basis,” he said. According to hospital sources, one doctor supervises all patients during his shift and does the necessary file work too owing to a shortage of staff.

Singha said the government should make arrangements for sufficient oxygen supply in 108 ambulances transporting patients to hospitals. Currently, one ambulance had a single cylinder which did not last for more than an hour and a half. “If a patient is coming from a far-off place, he would die before reaching the hospital,” said Singha.

Singha said the salaries of safai karamcharis be enhanced, and in the case of 108 employees, the wages ordered by the HC be enforced. Another suggestion was the Centre should negotiate with armed forces to allow the Walker hospital to be converted into a Covid hospital. — TNS