Delhi hospital ventilator mishap: Another patient dies

A fifth patient has succumbed due to lack of oxygen in the ventilator in a Delhi government hospital. In a shocking incident, four people had died in Sushruta Trauma Centre in North Delhi on Tuesday morning due to oxygen supply machine malfunctioning.

The Delhi government has ordered a probe into the incident by constituting a three-member committee which will be headed by S.B. Shashank, special secretary (Health)

The government has taken a serious view of incident. We have set up a three-member committee to look into the incident, said SB Shashank, Special Secretary, Health department, Delhi government. Describing the incident as shocking , Shashank said the committee has been instructed to establish the lapses in the system to prevent such recurrences.

Angry relatives of the victims had staged a protest at the hospital. The incident came to light around 6.45 a.m. Tuesday. Three of the victims were identified as Javed, 20, Rajkumar, 35, and Rehana, 36. The fourth, in his late 30s, was yet to be identified. Initial inquiry had revealed that the centralised oxygen supply of the hospital was disrupted due to the fault of an operator which led to the deaths. A private company had installed the centralised oxygen plant in the hospital and it also operated the equipment.

Health Minister AK Walia expressed his grief over the incident and said all necessary steps will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur. A meeting will be held on Wednesday to review functioning of all Delhi government-run hospitals in the city, Walia said.