#TheBedsCheck: Union Health Min briefs on O2, bed availability; Delhi’s shortage crisis not abating

National

As the number of covid cases in India continues to rise, healthcare facilities are under severe strain. As a result of the increase in cases, hospitals are experiencing severe shortages of beds and other medical resources. Delhi’s health infrastructure has been overwhelmed by the spike in the number of cases and facing acute shortages of Oxygen beds. Even after getting help from various sources, the Delhi crisis is not abating. On Thursday, Union Health Minister briefed the media about the beds and O2 availability during his visit to the Lady Hardinge Medical College. 

A day before yesterday, four tankers of Liquid Medical oxygen reached Delhi. The Delhi HC also asked the central government to resolve the oxygen crisis. Despite the fact that the oxygen shortage has not been resolved, the situation has improved a little bit but logistic issues are still there. Many people, on the other hand, are taking their loved ones to the neighboring states because of the shortage of beds in Delhi. People are still not getting hospital beds, even after the Kejriwal government introduced a real-time data App on bed availability. Doctors and nurses have also been exhausted as a result of working nonstop for the past few weeks.

However, Delhi is not alone in this battle and other states are also witnessing the same scenes. Unavailability of beds in Gujarat’s Rajkot sparked a ruckus within the hospital, with relatives of covid patient thrashing hospital workers.  In Uttar Pradesh, patients were seen sharing the same beds and oxygen cylinders. Where one side, Metro cities have witnessed this major problem, Other small cities and towns are also starting to face a shortage of medical supplies and beds. 

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Several deaths have been registered in government hospitals in Madhya Pradesh due to a lack of oxygen equipped beds. There are no oxygen-equipped beds available in government hospitals in the worst-affected districts of Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Ujjain, and Gwalior.  Given the present situation, it is difficult for the average person to find a hospital bed. To address this issue, all state governments must take drastic measures and ensure the availability of beds as soon as possible.