A day after Goa’s health minister Vishwajit Rane asked for a court-appointed committee to probe the deaths of 26 Covid-19 patients at a state-run hospital, the BJP leader told News18 on Wednesday that he was just trying to be transparent as the consumption of medical oxygen in the state had gone up due to a fierce second wave of the pandemic. However, some medical workers and volunteers this reporter spoke to said oxygen supply was cut off to the particular ward and the issue of shortage had become a regular affair in the state’s healthcare centres.
The 26 patients died at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in the early hours of Tuesday with oxygen scarcity suspected to be the cause.
“We are rationalising our quota of oxygen. Consumption of oxygen is more and hence I wanted it to be transparent so that the people of Goa know what I’m doing. Which is why I asked that an expert committee needs to be set up by the Bombay HC’s Goa bench,” Rane told News18.
Several hospitals across the country have over the past few days repeatedly either run out for some time or come close to running out of oxygen that can help patients with Covid-19 who need assistance with their breathing to stay alive.
About immediate plans to set up oxygen units in Goa, Rane said his department was preparing for additional storage of oxygen tanks. When asked about allegations of constant failure of oxygen units at GMCH, especially at night, he said, “Sometimes consumption of oxygen increases at a certain point and there is pressure on the system.”
Speaking to News18, Hezron Fernandes, who is part of Covid Service Goa, a group volunteering at GMCH, said that a shortage of oxygen has been regularly cropping up between 1am and 6am at the institute for several days.
“On further inquiry, we realised this has been going on for a long while. We were witnesses when oxygen supply was cut off to a particular ward for almost 4 hours resulting in the death of 26 innocent people. Our hardworking volunteers putting themselves at risk moved a few patients from ward number 147 to another ward where there was some oxygen but couldn’t save everyone,” he explained. “It was only after we took to social media in the dead of the night and tried calling all concerned authorities including the chief minister’s mobile phone that this problem was highlighted. The government has failed miserably.”
A senior doctor at GMCH, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was an acute shortage of beds as well as oxygen units. “The staff is already overburdened, but we are doing our best. The government needs to act fast,” the doctor said.
A vacation bench of the Bombay High Court will today hear a plea filed by the South Goa Lawyers’ Association regarding the acute shortage of oxygen at the GMCH.
Chief minister Pramod Sawant visited the hospital on Tuesday and, while interacting with the media, said though there was a delay in oxygen supply, it would be streamlined by the evening. However, around midnight, relatives of patients took to social media, once again alleging that oxygen supply was cut off.
A deceased patient’s daughter told News18 over the phone, “This is criminal. I saw my father gasp for breath. The Goa government has blood on its hands as this is a criminal act.”
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