From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, May 6: A major disaster that could have spelled doom to many lives due to shortage of oxygen at K C General Hospital in Malleshwaram has been averted by the timely and strenuous action taken by Deputy Chief Minister Dr C N Ashwatha Narayana and alertness exhibited by Dr Renuka Prasad, who was monitoring the oxygen supply vertical in the hospital.
The State Government run KC General Hospital in Malleswaram had about 200 patients admitted for Covid treatment.
The hospital has an oxygen storage tank of 6 tonnes capacity and by late night on Wednesday barely 0.5 tonnes was remaining. About 200 patients were being on treatment in oxygenated beds.
The oxygen supply which was supposed to come from a private company from Bellary (ProxAir) did not arrive causing anxious moments for the staff of the hospital and then Dr Renuka Prasad immediately got in touch with Dr Ashwatha Narayana about the severity of the situation.
Immediately, Dr Narayana, who is the MLA from Malleshwaram, sensed the gravity of the context and identified another private company (Universal Company) located in Dobaspete on the Bengaluru-Pune National Highway (NH 48), at a distance of about 50 KM from the city, where the oxygen was available.
The Deputy Chief Minister immediately ordered the company to provide 20 Jumbo Cylinders. The company responded positively and agreed to send oxygen in tanker to the hospital.
In the meantime, the Task Force head alerted the traffic police to ensure zero traffic on the way from Dobaspete to the point of reach in Malleshwaram.
The oxygen tank was refilled to 5.5 tonnes that is about 90% of the storage capacity by 5 a.m on Thursday early hours.
Had the oxygen did not arrive it might have led to another incident ending many lives just as the Chamarajanagar district hospital witnessed 24 deaths due to oxygen shortage.
The staff of the hospital also played a crucial role throughout the night by monitoring the oxygen requirements of the patients. Till the oxygen arrived they managed with the limited available oxygen by analyzing the requirement individually.
The Task Force Head took the lead in ensuring this timely action and was awake till 4.30 a.m., his staff said.
The decision which was taken by Dr Ashwatha Narayana quite a few months back to assign the monitoring of each of the sections of the hospital to various medical officers also came in handy.
The Deputy Chief Minister has also commended the efforts of the staff of the hospital as well as the company and the police for their timely action that saved the lives of the patients.