Panaji: 13 more patients died in Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) on Friday morning allegedly over oxygen. Opposition party Goa Forward Party also has alleged lack of oxygen in these deaths, although the hospital says that the cause of death is still being ascertained.
According to the report of the Indian Express, the public relations officer of the hospital, Mahesh Kambli, said that 13 people died on Friday morning; it is not yet known that the death occurred due to obstruction of oxygen supply. He said that nine people died late in the night between two and six o’clock in the morning, while four people died between six and eight o’clock in the morning.
Fifteen patients were reported to have died in the hospital between 2 pm and 6 pm on May 13, a day after the Bombay bench of the Goa High Court expressed its deep concern over the current lack of oxygen.
The Wire reported in a report on May 12 that 47 Corona patients had died in 48 hours at GMCH, allegedly due to lack of oxygen or disrupting oxygen supply.
Out of this, 26 Covid-19 patients died on Tuesday (May 11) due to lack of oxygen, and on May 12, 21 Corona patients died. Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane himself demanded an inquiry from the High Court. Due to this, a dispute has also arisen between Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Rane.
In fact, the Chief Minister said that due to the delay in oxygen supply, the pressure in the central supply of the hospital has come down, and it cannot be said that the death is due to this reason. He also emphasized that there is no shortage of oxygen in the state.
At the same time, Health Minister Rane, while talking to journalists, had accepted the lack of oxygen supply in GMCH and requested the High Court to investigate it.
The BJP government and officials of the state are being held responsible for this gross negligence.
Claiming the details of these deaths, Goa Forward Party President Vijay Sardesai said, ‘Seventy-five people have died on four consecutive days. On the night of May 11, 21 people died, on the night of May 12, 15 people died, and last night, 13 people died.”
He said that between 2 pm and 6 pm, there had been cases of death again in GMCM, there has been a problem in oxygen supply in the hospital.
Dr Pratik Savant, President of the Goa Association of Resident Doctors, has been on Covid duty in GMCH for the last year. On Friday, he said that he had received information from colleagues that there was a 20-minute pressure reduction in the central oxygen supply on Friday morning. Still, there was no decrease in patients’ saturation levels at that time.
Apart from this, Health Secretary Ravi Dhawan, while presenting a status report in the Goa bench of Bombay High Court on Friday, said that he and Urban Development Secretary Dr Tariq Thomas were personally present from 10 pm on Thursday to 5:45 am on Friday at the hospital to monitor the situation at the site of the manifold (a group of large cylinders). “No complaints were received by us during this period about a drop in pressure,” he stated in his report.
According to the report, the Health Secretary also reiterated that in an order issued on May 13, the Center had increased Goa’s daily allocation of liquid medical oxygen (LMO) from 26 MT to 46 MT.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had tweeted the information about constructing a 20,000-liter medical oxygen tank at GMCH.
On the other hand, the opposition parties of the state have demanded the BJP government to give compensation to the families of those who died in Goa Medical College and Hospital in relation to oxygen.
Goa Forward Party President Sardesai said, “A similar incident (lack of oxygen) was observed in Chamarajanagar (Karnataka), but such incidents are happening continuously here (Goa).”
He also said that his party is going to file a case of culpable homicide and criminal conspiracy against Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Chief Secretary Parimal Rai and Nodal Officer Swetika Sachan responsible for oxygen supply.
Former Goa Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Digambar Kamat said, “With the BJP government in Goa clearly admitting to deaths at GMCH due to gross negligence, the CM must own responsibility and immediately announce substantial compensation to the families of those murdered by government apathy and blunder.”
According to the report, out of 61 deaths due to Covid-19 in Goa on Friday, 39 people died in GMCH, the largest Covid centre and 14 of these people died in South Goa District Hospital.
On Friday, 2,455 new cases were reported here, after which the total active cases of corona infection increased to 32,387. The situation here is worrisome due to the 36 per cent infection rate.
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