BENGALURU: At a time when every ounce of oxygen is precious, a report by the Health Department, nodal officers in charge of oxygen supply and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) shows that a private hospital in Bengaluru “wasted” this precious commodity.
According to the report, a copy of which is available with TNSE, on May 1, Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre demanded 5kl of oxygen multiple times, which, according to Health Department officials, is very high for a hospital with 201 HDU and 10 ICU beds. Within a couple of days, the institute again demanded 12kl of oxygen.
The BBMP and the Health Department grew suspicious and a team was sent to physically examine the status. The team calculated the need for oxygen based on fixed daily requirement, on the number of beds and average consumption. The team did a physical head count and found the number of patients admitted were much less than what was quoted.
According to the report, “The hospital demanded 4.30 kl oxygen quoting information on Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust (SAST) portal. The actual consumption for a period of 24 hours is 3.34kl. Based on information given by Dr Giri, an intensivist at the hospital, 4.12 kl is needed. However, based on physical count done by BBMP, the hospital will need 1.84 kl.”
“Leakage in oxygen pipes were found. Poor maintenance and ice formation on evaporation coil impacted vaporisation and flow capacity. So every minute, 3.341 kl of oxygen was being wasted,” said an official who inspected the site.
The reports, signed by nodal officers for oxygen supply, BBMP Dasarahalli zone officials and officials from Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, showed gross anomalies. The reports have been submitted to the government.The reports states that criminal action should be initiated against the hospital for showing more patients on record against physical count, for not admitting patients referred by BBMP and for wasting oxygen.
BBMP and Medical Education Department officials said that they had asked for a report from the institute, but in vain. “The oxygen lines are not maintained well. So, it has been decided to reduce their bed permit to 50 from 211 before closing down the OPD. The hospital is still getting 4.7-5.5kl of oxygen as against the demand of 6kl. The government has still not taken any action against the institute,” an official said.
Despite repeated attempts by TNSE to reach out to the hospital authorities and to Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar, there was no response from both.