Jaipur Golden hospital lost 25 patients over weekend, officials had blamed oxygen shortage for deaths.
Delhi hospitals that have approached the High Court on oxygen shortage have taken strong exception to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's tweets asking hospitals not to raise "unnecessary alarm" when they still have oxygen stocks. The Delhi High Court has been hearing multiple petitions over the oxygen shortage that Arvind Kejriwal's government has been struggling with. The Delhi government alleges that oxygen tankers meant for the capital have been blocked in neighbouring states and has urged the Centre to tackle the problem.
"Yesterday the Deputy Chief Minister made a statement that hospitals are making unnecessary SOS calls. Should hospitals wait without oxygen? How long after a patient dies should hospitals issue SOS," questioned the Jaipur Golden hospital.
The private hospital located in Delhi lost 25 patients over the weekend; officials blamed low oxygen pressure for the deaths.
In a series of tweets, Mr Sisodia had mentioned two instances in which hospitals that still had oxygen stocks had flagged a shortage. Without naming the hospitals, he said in one case the hospital had 72 hours of oxygen supply left. Another hospital had contacted the government after consuming one-third of its stock.
"This morning I got an oxygen SOS call from a hospital that has 18KL available at the moment, whereas its one day cost is 4.8KL. Its storage capacity is also 21KL. That is, he has about 72 hours of oxygen available," his tweet read.
The Deputy Chief Minister had said that such a situation could add to the stress on an overstretched healthcare system. It was also adding to the anxiety of the relatives of the patients, he had said.
"I request the hospitals not to raise unnecessary alarm on the lack of oxygen. By doing this, there is a problem in getting help to the needy hospitals," one of his tweets read.
The Delhi government has been firefighting through the last week as one hospital after another has complained of oxygen shortage.
On Thursday, after the Fortis hospital again said its oxygen supplies were running low, AAP's Raghav Chadha tweeted: "One cryogenic tanker carrying liquid oxygen reserves is on it's way from West Delhi. Should reach within minutes. Have spoken to the hospital administration."
The Delhi government has repeatedly told the court that it has no oxygen plants or tankers and is dependent on supplies from other states.
Last week, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Chief Ministers on the Covid crisis, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had sought PM Modi's "intervention and guidance".
"People in major pain due to oxygen shortage. We fear a big tragedy may happen due to oxygen shortage and we will never be able to forgive ourselves. I request you with folded hands to direct all Chief Ministers to ensure smooth movement of oxygen tankers coming to Delhi," Mr Kejriwal had said.
Pointing to the extra workload on hospitals, the Delhi High Court said it was the responsibility of the Centre and the state to ensure that hospitals have enough oxygen.
"Instead of taking care of patients, hospitals are coming to us for oxygen," said the court, which had received petitions from three hospitals on the oxygen shortage in the national capital.