Delhi Can't Breathe Easy As O2 Supply Still Falling Short

Crisis Enters 2nd Week, Hospitals Unable To Meet Demand

- Sakshi Chand

New Delhi: On Tuesday morning, Gupta Hospital in Vivek Vihar sent an SOS that it had oxygen only for two more hours. Batra Hospital and Indian Spinal Injuries Institute too complained of inconsistent gas supply. Clearly, oxygen supplies for city hospitals are yet to be streamlined despite the crisis having created a national hubbub.

Gandhi Hospital in Uttam Nagar was desperate around 4.30pm with just an hour of oxygen left. It has over 60 Covid-positive patients, of whom 36 are in ICU. “Our supplier himself got affected and is admitted in the hospital. We have been sending our vans with cylinders for refilling, but the queue is long,” said Alisha Gandhi, who is in charge of gas requirements. “Our requirement is around 150 cylinders per day, but we have been having a difficult time in the last five days. The hospital is admitting patients, but only those who don’t require oxygen.”