In a shocking incident, eight children died of lack of oxygen in the Encephalitis ward of BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur on Thursday night raising a big question over the prevailing infrastructure in state-run hospitals.
Though District Magistrate Rajiv Rautela told reporters in Gorakhpur that seven children died in the last 24 hours, but a news agency twitted quoting the DM that 30 children had died of Encephalitis in the last 48 hours. However, the tweet does not mention about oxygen or the lack of it.
Sources claim that there was some problem in the oxygen supply line on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, creating a scare in the hospital. As patients started gasping for breath, chaos prevailed in the Encephalitis ward.
“Seven children have died due to lack of oxygen in the ward,” Sameer Chaudhary, a parent whose six-year-old nephew is admitted to the hospital said.
“Junior doctors present there tried to salvage the situation but they were helpless as there was no Oxygen in the pipeline. At night, cylinders were brought and Oxygen supply was restored but by morning, the hospital again went out of supply,” Chaudhary said. Principal Secretary (Health) Prashant Trivedi denied the death of children due to lack of Oxygen in the hospital. “There was some problem in the Oxygen pipeline at night. But the situation was managed with the help of cylinders. The hospital administration has enough supply of cylinders in its stock. So, the report about death of children due to Oxygen shortage is false,” he told ‘The Pioneer’.
The BRD Medical college has a 100-bed Encephalitis ward where children from eastern Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring Bihar and Nepal are admitted. The disease has been a serial killer for the last 36 years.
The death rate in previous years have ranged between 16 to 20 per cent but in the last couple of years it has taken an ominous turn with the mortality rate spiralling to 29 per cent in 2013 and was above 30 per cent in 2014.
The disease has so far killed several thousand children in last three decades and 2005 was the worst year in which over 1500 children died, drawing global attention.
Sources in the hospital said that an Oxygen plant was installed in the hospital two years back. A private firm, Pushpa Sales, used to supply Oxygen cylinders but the hospital did not clear the dues which went up to Rs 68 lakh.
“Two days back the company informed the hospital brass that it would not be able to supply Oxygen unless the dues were cleared. Probably, the company adhered to its threat resulting in lack of Oxygen supply,” the source said.
Incidentally, Gorakhpur is the native place of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and during his previous visits to the city, Yogi had showed his resolve to eradicate Encephalitis and transform BRD Medical College as a state-of-the-art hospital in eastern UP.