We have oxygen for only 45 mins, we can never forgive ourselves for this, says Dr Gupta of Batra Hospital

The Batra Hospital in south Delhi’s Tughlakabad Institutional Area has sent out another appeal for Oxygen as the supply which reached them in the morning has run out.

“Yesterday there were 350 Covid-19 patients, today there are 300. Whatever has happened in Ganga Ram Hospital, Jaipur Golden Hospital will happen here also. We have also 300 patients on Oxygen here. We are not gods. The Oxygen supply has run out, now we are functioning on cylinders and that will run out in 45 minutes. Ab Ishwar malik hai (Now, everything is in God’s hands),” revealed Dr SCL Gupta, the medical director of Dr Batra Hospital.

“We don’t have any hope of getting Oxygen. We have gone to the Delhi High Court also and there everyone was fighting. We are not getting anything in the midst of this. We have tried. We have gone from pillar to post. We have gone to practically everybody. Whatever the system has asked us to do, we have approached them all. My business is not about the tussle between Delhi and Central government. I am a doctor, and my concern is that my patients should get Oxygen,” said Gupta. He is a former BJP MLA from Sangam Vihar (south) in Delhi.

“We have written to the health minister, Delhi Chief Minister, additional secretary-health, joint secretary-health, Officer on Special Duty, District magistrates. All those who have to help us procure the oxygen, we have written to them and called them. The response is that we got 500 litres in the morning at 9.30 am. It was over in an hour,” added Gupta.

“We are running a hospital, Gupta emphasised, “and our job is to run it only. We are supposed to get Oxygen, but then, if the government does not supply it, what can we do? How long will we hold on? We have stopped admitting patients. The Emergency is full. Please do something if you can.”

Dr Batra had been asked to set aside more than 300 beds for Covid-19 only recently. “The government has asked us to keep 300 beds for Covid-19 patients and we have. Almost every Covid-19 patient in our hospital needs Oxygen now. This is the only non-debatable treatment for Covid-19. All the others – steroids, HCR or Remdesivir – can be debated. All those patients who are coming to the hospital need Oxygen and the government is not supplying Oxygen. This can happen to my siblings, my parents or anyone else’s. People are losing lives because of shortage of Oxygen,” asserted Gupta.

Earlier on April 24, Gupta had issued a statement and had warned of an acute crisis of oxygen levels in the hospital. “This is a hospital where everything runs on central supplies. The cylinders were our support system. There was a time when every patient was getting oxygen from cylinders, but not anymore. We have taken from everywhere we could, borrowed also. Now, people are also buying cylinders, so it is not available in the market. It takes 12 hours to get cylinders refilled,” added Gupta.

“All of us are getting depressed by the day. We can try, but what else can we do. My job is to try to save the patients, now I have turned into an administrator. Sixteen of my doctors have tested positive for Covid 19 and have been admitted and are under quarantine. They gave all they can to help Covid-19 patients. We are working so hard to save our patients and now we can't let them die due to lack of Oxygen. We will never be able to forgive ourselves for this,” said Gupta.