Goa govt informs Bombay HC that 20,000 k-lt oxygen plant commissioned at GMCH; toll at 83

As deaths continue in Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) due to oxygen shortage, the Goa government submitted its oxygen supply report to the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Saturday night. The report stated that the government is working on "war footing" to ensure oxygen supplies are replenished. In the past 5 days, 83 lives have been lost as of date in Goa Medical Hospital whith 8 more died on Saturday night between 2 AM to 6 AM.

Goa govt submits oxygen report to Bombay HC

The report stated that as the demand for O2 at night creates pressure on the entire oxygen supply at Goa Medical College, the govt has commissioned a 20,000-kilo litre oxygen tank in the hospital. Without mentioning a deadline, the report states that the plant will get functional within a few days. The Goa government earlier told the Bombay High Court that there were "logistic issues" related to supply of medical oxygen to patients.

State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane said to PTI that the supply at GMCH was getting streamlined after commissioning of the tank. "Now, we should not have problems regarding the oxygen supply. The commissioning of the tank is a major step towards solving this problem," he said. The tank was shifted from Bicholim industrial estate to the hospital which has now been taken over the govt.

The Goa government formed a three-member committee on Thursday to look into the matter of oxygen supply at Goa Medical College and Hospital. The Committee's Terms of Reference (ToR) are to determine the adequacy of GMC's oxygen supply, the quality of the oxygen supply chain, and the method of administering oxygen at GMC, with suggestions for improvement. One of the ToR.ege and Hospital's recommendations is to strengthen the entire chain of oxygen supply at GMC.

Oxygen issues at GMCH

Since Tuesday, there has been a dip in oxygen levels at Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) leading to deaths of 26 people during the “dark hours” (between 2 am and 6 am). In the following days, deaths continued on Wednesday (21), Thursday (15), Friday (13) and Saturday (8). While the govt has not revealed the reason for the deaths, it had informed the Bombay HC  during the process of attaching the oxygen cylinders to the  manifold there was some interruption, which resulted in fall of pressure in the supply lines of oxygen to patients. The Goa Forward Party (GFP) has filed a complaint Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Chief Secretary Parimal Rai and the nodal officer 'for causing deaths of COVID-19 patients' due to interruption in the supply of oxygen in Goa Medical College Hospital.