Bhopal: Drop in pressure of oxygen supply in the special care unit of the government-run Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial Hospital in Raipur in Chhattisgarh allegedly led to death of three sick infants late on Sunday night.
Chhattisgarh is the third BJP-ruled state after Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to have witnessed such an incident in the past few months.
While 70 people, including 36 kids, died due to alleged lack of oxygen supply in the emergency ward of BRD hospital in Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh recently, seven children died due to reported disruption in oxygen supply in a government hospital in Indore in MP six months ago. Authorities in the Chhattisgarh government’s health department, however, claimed that the three infants, who were on ventilators in the emergency ward of the hospital, died of serious ailments and not due to want of oxygen.
“The three deaths occurred at 12.30 am, 1.30 am and 10 am on Sunday. The three infants were admitted in the hospital in serious condition and were on ventilators. One of them was low birth weight newborn, while another was suffering from heart ailments. The third deceased infant was also in serious condition. They died of ailments not due to lack of oxygen”, principal secretary of health department Subrat Sahu said on Monday. Hospital sources told this newspaper that doctors on duty in the special care unit on Sunday evening noticed discomfort of patients put on ventilators and suspected disruption in oxygen supply in the ward.
They immediately took the matter to the notice of the local chief medical officer. Later, the hospital authorities sprang to action and restored normalcy in oxygen supply.
It was found that the oxygen plant operator in the hospital, Rabi Chandra, was in inebriated condition and failed to ensure its smooth supply.
There were total 50 patients, including 3 children, who were on ventilators in the special care unit of the hospital.
“We could avert a major tragedy by resuming normal supply of oxygen immediately,” hospital authorities said.
Meanwhile, the operator was arrested in connection with the incident. He was released after the local court granted him bail. Chief minister Raman Singh ordered a probe into the incident.
