Covid-19: Kashmir hospitals gasp for oxygen, ICU beds

Five months into the Covid-19 pandemic and over 18,000 cases and 402 deaths later, Kashmir valley is still short of required isolation beds with oxygen for treatment of coronavirus-infected patients.

At Srinagar lone tertiary-care hospital SKIMS, Covid-19 infected patients initially admitted in emergency continue to remain there for days due to a limited number of beds with oxygen ports and limited cylinder supply in the wards designated for the coronavirus patients. Critically sick, but negative for viral infection patients are admitted in the same emergency.

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“The delay in scooping out the Covid-19 patients and isolating them is not because of the dearth of space in the hospital, but because of the unavailability of oxygen beds,” a senior medico at SKIMS told DH on the condition of anonymity as doctors have been barred from speaking to media over the Covid-19 issue in J&K.

The failure to segregate patients, he said, was a “health catastrophe” given the rush of people in emergency and the high risk of other patients and attendants contracting the respiratory viral infection.

Given the situation in SKIMS and SMHS hospitals in Srinagar, which are nearly full to capacity, health authorities are only playing catch-up with Covid-19 numbers, another senior medico said.

“Covid-19 numbers are rising far more rapidly than critical-care beds that are the only way to save lives. The SKIMS had designated 260 beds for Covid-19, but the number of beds with oxygen is just 180. In other beds, the hospital is using oxygen cylinders, which too are limited in supply. Lack of oxygen often leads to casualties,” he added.

Currently, officials said, approximately 300 patients severely sick with Covid-19 are admitted at the SKIMS hospital. “It is a struggle to arrange high-flow oxygen for everyone,” they said.

At SMHS hospital, out of designated 232 beds for Covid-19 patients, 180 have wall-mounted oxygen. “There is no scope to increase the number of ventilators or high-flow oxygen devices,” a doctor at the hospital said.

The condition in district hospitals and other health centres designated for Covid-19 in peripheries hardly have an oxygen bank. As a result, all patients in need of oxygen or ventilator are referred to Srinagar-based hospitals.

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Financial Commissioner Health and Medical Education, Atal Dulloo agreed that demand for oxygen beds was putting a strain on supply at tertiary care hospitals.

“Efforts are on at multiple levels to prepare more hospitals for severely sick Covid-19 patients. We have also sought approval of the finance department for setting up oxygen generation plants in some big hospitals. However, that will take about six months,” he said.

The Covid-19 death toll in Kashmir stands at 402, with Srinagar accounting for 144 of it. The way Covid-19 numbers are rising, the authorities need to act on a war footing to set up oxygen supported beds.