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Panaji: Just 2 days after a tragedy at the same Covid facility, fifteen more COVID-19 patients died at the Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in the early hours of Thursday, the state government told the Bombay High Court.
On Tuesday, “Twenty-six patients being treated for Covid 19 at the Goa Medical College and Hospital died between 2 am and 6 am” , said Goa health minister Vishwajit Rane.
On Wednesday 21 patients died at the same facility due to low oxygen supply. A total of 62 patients died in the last 72 hours even after the relative if patients raised alarm over the oxygen shortage.
The Goa bench of the HC said state authorities told it some of the casualties may have taken place due to “logistical issues” related to connecting oxygen cylinders to the manifold (group of large gas cylinders) that resulted in interruption and drop in pressure in supply lines of oxygen to patients.
The judges, who had reprimanded the state government for not ensuring steady oxygen supply just a day earlier, however, didn’t buy the hospital’s defence on Thursday.
“Statistics show that the deaths are happening due to a lack of oxygen. Do not try to deny the fact,” the high court’s Goa bench of justices MS Sonak and Nitin Jambre told the state’s top law officer, advocate general Devidas Pangam.
“We are aware that the issue is not sorted out yet,” the bench said.
The bench was hearing a bunch of petitions on recent death of COVID-19 patients at the GMCH allegedly due to lack of medical oxygen.
The HC said the Centre should ensure that the allotted quota of medical oxygen is made available at the earliest to Goa, which is reporting a very high test positivity rate.
The Judges said out of these, several casualties have taken place between the dark hours of 2 am and 6 am. Now today, again, we are assured by the learned Advocate General Davidas Pangam as well as the Health Secretary that there is no dearth as such of oxygen.
“They have pointed out that the Central Government has now increased the (medical oxygen) quota for Goa, having regard to the overwhelming number of COVID-19 victims in the state of Goa, the court said. Advocate General Pangam and the health secretary have assured the court that they are continuously following up the matter with the Central government, the judges said.
On our query as to why the deaths have taken place last night, we were explained that there were logistical issues involved in maneuvering the tractor which carries the trolleys of oxygen and in connecting the cylinders to the manifold, the court ruled. We were explained that during this process there was some interruption, which resulted in fall of pressure in the supply lines of oxygen to the patients.
On Wednesday, the Goa medical college dean had spoken about how disruption in oxygen supply could claim lives and lead to organ failure, leading to deaths long after the oxygen supply is restored.
“Reduced oxygen saturation lasting for a significant duration causes tissue hypoxia and irreversible tissue damage. This is worse in the presence of comorbidities and old age. The death following such hypoxemia and organ hypoxia may be immediate, or most of the time after some period of time,” he said on Wednesday
(With PTI Inputs).
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