Deaths due to O2 shortage: Amritsar pvt hospital barred from treating Covid patients
6 people had died at Neelkanth Hospital after oxygen supply dried up on April 24; probe finds lapses in treatment
The district administration on Wednesday suspended the Covid care facility at Neelkanth Hospital in Amritsar after the probe committee, set up to look into the death of six patients due to shortage of medical oxygen, found lapses in the treatment provided by the hospital.
Six patients, four of them suffering from Covid, died at Neelkanth Hospital after oxygen supply dried up on April 24. Following chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh’s directions, Amritsar deputy commissioner Gurpreet Singh Khaira set up a two-member committee comprising deputy director (local bodies) Rajat Oberoi, who is also in-charge of the death analysis committee in the district, and Amritsar civil surgeon Dr Charanjit Singh to look into the matter.
The probe report submitted to the DC on Wednesday says the private hospital did not meet the criteria required for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
The committee said the hospital was authorised to admit level-2 Covid patients only, but it allowed even level-3 (critical) patients without informing the health department.
“There is a shortage of specialist doctors in the hospital. The hospital does not have any anaesthesiologist, which is required for looking after the critical patients on ventilators. The hospital management did not have any provision of buffer stock of oxygen for the treatment of critical patients and on the day of the incident, the hospital management had not informed the district administration about the oxygen shortage,” said the DC, adding that Neelkanth Hospital has been excluded from the list of hospitals listed for the treatment of Covid patients in Amritsar.
The probe committee also revealed that attendants of patients alleged that the hospital had been overcharging for Covid treatment.
DC Khaira has also directed health department to write a letter to the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) to reconsider the certification of the hospital.