On oxygen shortage plea, HC tells Delhi hospitals to first contact nodal officer

The court was hearing pleas of two private hospitals that have flagged the scarcity of oxygen and the condition of seriously ill Covid-19 patients.

Delhi High Court on Friday directed hospitals and nursing homes in the city to get in touch with the nodal officer of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government if they face a shortage of oxygen for Covid-19 patients before approaching it. A bench of justice Vipin Sanghi and justice Rekha Palli was hearing separate pleas of two private hospitals, Bram Healthcare Private Limited and Batra Hospital and Medical Research Centre, flagging the scarcity of oxygen and the condition of seriously ill Covid-19 patients.

A truck carrying oxygen gas enters Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi on Friday. (AP Photo)

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In its plea, Batra Hospital said that it has currently admitted 352 Covid-19 patients. “The conditions of some of the patients are extremely critical and life-threatening and if they are not provided with a continuous supply of oxygen, it could turn out to be fatal for the patient,” it said. The hospital said that as of Friday 8:30am, the available stock of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) was 1900 litres and said it will last only five to six hours with the present consumption rate. The hospital has been discharging stable patients and has stopped new admissions.

The city’s Bram Hospital said it is occupied with more than 150 patients of which more than 100 are on oxygen support. According to the hospital’s petition, they require 125 oxygen cylinders per day but now are left with only 35 cylinders. The hospital informed the court that it has tried to get oxygen everywhere but could not get any response either from the administration or police. “Even the filling station does not have the oxygen,” the hospital claimed and said that in this scenario the oxygen they have will last only for three to four hours.

Following this, the Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, submitted that control rooms have been set up to coordinate with the nodal officers of state governments for the management of oxygen supply. The control room has officers from all departments and hospitals can contact the nodal officer, the Centre told the court. Udit Prakash is the nodal officer in Delhi. “This is done so that the Centre can intervene whenever there is any obstruction of oxygen transportation by local authorities,” he said.

The bench said if the requirements are not met even after contacting the nodal officer, the hospitals shall contact senior advocate Rahul Mehra and lawyer Satyakam, before approaching the court.