Covid-19 patients die of oxygen shortage due to poor distribution mechanism

Bengaluru: There is a lack of sturdy distribution mechanism and official blundering of medical oxygen as Chamarajanagar and Kalaburagi witnessed the deaths of Covid-19 patients due to non-availability of oxygen.

Even though the health experts had given several warnings, the government did not succeed in keeping a check on the availability of oxygen. It did not take any remedial steps as there was a shortage of medical oxygen.

Health experts and hospitals have been repeatedly telling the government from the past two weeks that there is an urgent need to ramp up the medical facilities, especially in those districts where the cases are high. Also, social media is filled with messages of people begging for oxygen cylinders to save the lives of their loved ones.

But, chief minister BS Yediyurappa and health minister K Sudhakar have been highlighting the statistics which show the high availability of oxygen.

Last week Sudhakar tweeted, “The lack of storage facilities at private hospitals is a reason for shortage of oxygen. Otherwise, the state has sufficient supply. The government is ready to supply whatever quantity of oxygen is required.”

According to the government’s estimation, the oxygen requirement from May 1 is to be around 1,471 tonnes per day (TPD) and the chief minister conveyed the same to PM Narendra Modi on April 23. The health department officials state that Karnataka is getting around 1,000 tonnes which is inclusive of 865 tonnes allocate by the Centre from April 30, and 100-150 tonnes from small producers. This leaves the state with a shortage of 400-500 tonnes.

Officials are of the view that the lack of a mechanism to manage oxygen supply and no strategy to make the best use of available oxygen is adding to the problem.

A doctor of a noted hospital said, “The government must evolve a system where available oxygen can be used better and even shared by districts in an emergency. Now, there are multiple contact points and every district is scrambling to get the maximum supply.”

Ameen-e-Mudassar who is a frontline Covid warrior helping patients to get oxygen stated that the government must make it a point to acquire oxygen concentrators immediately. He added, “This will lessen the burden on hospitals. The government must appoint a team of officials to look into oxygen demand and supply.”

Alleged former minister R Ramalinga Reddy said, “The lack of planning and transparency in handling the Covid situation is the major cause of deaths.”