Barely three days after the tragic Gorakhpur incident where dozens of children died due to disrupted oxygen supply, an eighteen month old toddler died in Ahmedabad when oxygen supply ran out on ICU-on-wheels. Sola police have registered a case of death due to negligence against a doctor at Sola Civil Hospital, who was treating the child named Darshan.
According to reports, Darshan was admitted to Sola Civil Hospital and was diagnosed with swine flu. He was being shifted from Sola Civil Hospital to the Civil Hospital after his condition started deteriorating. “The 18-month-old patient died due to short oxygen supply when he was being shifted in ICU on Wheels, a state government-run ambulance service deployed at government hospitals to shift critical patients,” said Dr. H K Bhavsar, superintendent of Sola Civil Hospital.
Close on the heels of Gorakhpur tragedy, Gujarat High Court had cautioned the state government to ensure oxygen supply is not disrupted in Gujarat. The issue of oxygen supply in hospitals came up during the hearing of a petition involving a tendering dispute on procurement of oxygen in two government hospitals in Ahmedabad and Surat, respectively.
However, the government has ensured supply of oxygen and live saving drugs is adequate and will not be clouded by court dispute, especially since there is a scare around swine flu in the state.
There are already 220 deaths in Gujarat due to swine flu this year alone whereas 1883 swine flu positive cases have been detected in the state.. The government has been issuing directives to urge people to take preventive measures and not take symptoms of flu casually. Today, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani also visited major civil hospitals in Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and Ahmedabad to take stock of the situation
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