Police report in Jaipur Golden hospital deaths a cover-up, say families of the deceased

In its status report in before a magistrate on Tuesday, the Delhi Police said the deaths at Jaipur Golden Hospital were not caused by oxygen shortage. In the same status, the hospital has stated that there was a link between inadequate oxygen supply and deaths of the patients as no oxygen was supplied to them for 30 hours despite several alerts.

New Delhi: A day after the Delhi Police told a court that the deaths of 21 Covid-19 patients in Jaipur Golden Hospital were not caused due to oxygen shortage, families of the people who lost their lives termed it a “whitewash” by the authorities and demanded a fair probe into the deaths.

A man breaks down after losing a relative at Jaipur Golden hospital, Rohini, in April 2021. At least 20 critical Covid-19 patients died amid oxygen scarcity in this hospital. (PTI Photo)

Erick Massey, whose mother Delphin Massey died at the Jaipur Golden Hospital allegedly due to oxygen shortage, said the hospital director clearly mentioned that they did not receive oxygen.

“The Centre had recently said that there were no deaths due to lack of oxygen that were specifically reported by states and union territories during the second wave of coronavirus. They are fooling us. The death summaries mention respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. It’s written in a technical language. We are demanding a proper investigation,” he said.

The hospital clearly said they were operating on reserves, Massey said, adding that it meant oxygen pressure was low and people on ventilators would not have survived on low oxygen pressure, he said.

Massey also said that the hospital itself told the police that the average mortality rate per day before and after the incident was only two and three, respectively, which increased to 21 within a span of seven to eight hours.

Jagjyot Singh’s mother Sarabjeet Kaur was one of the 21 casualties on the fateful night of April 24 when the Jaipur Golden Hospital waited for its oxygen stock to be replenished.

“It looks like a drama. They are fooling us. How the deaths happened should be investigated. We are not able to sleep at night. My mother has been murdered by the hospital. They are trying to blame everything on protocols,” he said.

Navya Awasthi, whose mother Seema Awasthi, also died at the hospital, said that the report showed how the government was “more concerned about whitewashing” the matter than about the plight of people.

“The hospital is saying that they had to resort to reserves, yet there is no death due to oxygen shortage. Aren’t these two statements contradictory? It is very easy to pass the buck. Whenever any committee looks at the reports, they will just show the records that say cardiac arrest or respiratory failure was the cause of the death. But what led to the cardiac arrest or respiratory failure of 21 patients,” she asked.

In its status report in before a magistrate on Tuesday, the Delhi Police said the deaths at Jaipur Golden Hospital were not caused by oxygen shortage. “On scrutiny of death summaries of all deceased persons, it revealed that no death of patient was caused due to shortage of oxygen,” DCP Pranav Tayal told the court.

In the same status, the hospital has stated that there was a link between inadequate oxygen supply and deaths of the patients as no oxygen was supplied to them for 30 hours despite several alerts.