COVID-19: Hospitals in Patna face oxygen cylinder shortage

Several hospitals in Patna have fallen short of oxygen supplies due to the increasing number of Covid cases in the city. Patna Medical College and Hospitals (PMCH), Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) and AIIMS are filled with Covid positive patients as other smaller hospitals cater to non-Covid patients. However, they have been facing difficulties obtaining oxygen companies from companies.

"We have urged the company to supply oxygen cylinders to my hospital on Tuesday and reminded it on Wednesday as well. If the company does not supply us the oxygen cylinders on a regular basis, we may terminate our contract with it," a Medical Superintendent of a private nursing home at Raja Bazar said. He added that his hospital had referred patients to bigger hospitals in the city due to the irregular oxygen supply.

Another doctor of a private hospital located at Saguna Mor in Danapur said: "As the beds in major hospitals are occupied at the moment, a large number of patients are in home isolation. There is a possibility of oxygen cylinders reaching at the individual patient, the hospitals are unable to obtain cylinders, and the black marketing of cylinders cannot be ruled out."

Alok Kumar, MD of Jagdish Memorial hospital in Patna had written to Patna DM Chandrashekher Singh, Civil Surgeon Vibha Kumari, Principal Secretary (Health) Pratyay Amrit and Health Minister Mangal Pandey to ensure regular supplies of oxygen cylinder in private hospitals, following which the DM had directed all companies to supply cylinders in hospitals first.

"The companies will be severely penalized if they are involved in black marketing of oxygen cylinders," the DM said.