The family of a Covid patient on ventilator in a Nashik hospital was asked to transfer her to another hospital because the oxygen supply was only sufficient for a few more hours. A terrifying example of the recent crisis in Maharashtra, the incident brings to light how the state’s hospital services are stretched amid rapidly rising Covid cases and deaths.
Archana Vyavhare told NDTV that her mother had been in the hospital for 17 days and had recently been transferred to a non-Covid ward. Her health deteriorated, and the family got a call in the morning.
Vyavhare said the hospital informed her that they “were running out of oxygen and they only had enough left till evening, so we had to shift my mother to any other hospital at the earliest.”
However, a lot of hospitals refused to take in a new patient, and told the family they wanted to save their existing oxygen supplies for those already admitted.
“We tried every hospital in Nashik but they have refused to take new admissions. If we don’t get oxygen, then my mother won’t survive,” she told NDTV.
The report mentions that doctors have been attempting to obtain more oxygen but are unable to do so.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in a recent briefing had said the current Covid-19 crisis was creating shortages in the availability of beds, and oxygen supply. The Covid-19 virus, in its most serious cases, has a tendency to cause trouble in breathing and lung function, often creating requirement for the patient to receive a healthy dose of oxygen supply in case their levels stoop.
A report had recently mentioned that a doctor at one of the largest hospitals in Mumbai had warned of a grim situation on the ground.
Dr Hemant Deshmukh, dean of KEM Hospital had said – “The situation at the ground level is very grim. The number of cases has been increasing for the last, almost four weeks.”
Deshmukh had also pointed out how the bed augmentation in the city of Mumbai had “reached its maximum”. “We have enough number of vacant beds right now for mild and moderate disease,” he had said.
The doctor had stated that there was an urgent need for oxygen as well as medicine, as many hospitals in Maharashtra have confirmed a shortage of oxygen cylinders required to care for critical patients.
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