Govt orders probe, forms 3-member panel after 4 Covid-19 patients die at Jammu hospital

The kin alleged that the deaths were caused due to shortage of oxygen, a claim strongly denied by the hospital administration.

After the death of four Covid-19 patients, allegedly due to shortage of oxygen, at Acharya Shri Chander College of Medical Sciences and Hospital (ASCOMS), popularly known as Batra Hospital, the Jammu and Kashmir administration has ordered a probe into the incident, officials said.

A man suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is comforted by his daughter as he receives treatment inside the casualty ward at a hospital in New Delhi, India, May 1, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY (REUTERS)

Four people, including a woman, undergoing treatment for Covid-19 at ASCOMS hospital, died on Saturday morning. Their kin alleged that the deaths were caused due to shortage of oxygen, a claim strongly denied by the administration as well as the hospital management.

Financial commissioner, health and medical education department, Atal Dulloo appointed divisional commissioner, Jammu Dr Raghav Langer, as the inquiry officer and asked him to probe the circumstances leading to the deaths at the hospital.

Consequently, Langer constituted a three-member committee, comprising director health services (Jammu), director industries and commerce (Jammu), and superintendent engineer, mechanical engineering department, Jammu, the officials said. One among them is also a member of a panel constituted last month to ensure an adequate and timely supply of medical oxygen to hospitals.

The three-member committee was formed to assist the inquiry officer during the proceedings of the probe, they said.

Following the death of the four patients, their family members created a ruckus and accused hospital management of negligence that led to the death of their loved ones.