Oxygen plant at Kapurthala Civil Hospital shuts down amid staff shortage

The oxygen generation plant at Kapurthala Civil Hospital has been shut down due to a shortage of trained staff, forcing the hospital to rely on oxygen cylinders. The issue comes just days after a failure at Jalandhar Civil Hospital, where three patients died due to a non-functional oxygen facility.

According to hospital officials, the oxygen plant has been out of service for an unspecified number of days.

Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Indu Bala confirmed the issue, stating “there is no available personnel to operate and maintain the oxygen plant. Despite repeated requests and prior complaints to the health authorities, no staff has been deputed so far.”

The hospital administration claimed they had submitted formal complaints to district and state-level health authorities regarding the staffing crisis, but no action has been taken.

The issue has raised serious concerns about systemic lapses and the Punjab Health Department’s apparent lack of urgency in addressing them.

“We are being forced to work in a high-risk environment without basic operational support,” said a senior doctor, requesting anonymity. “This is not just administrative failure — this is endangering lives.”

Healthcare experts warn that the repeated malfunctioning or non-operation of essential services like oxygen plants can severely undermine emergency response systems in public hospitals, especially during medical surges.