No deaths reported at GGH due to lack of oxygen supply: Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy

Nellore: Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy has clarified that the deaths of 6 patients occurred in Nellore Government General Hospital (GGH) naturally as they were suffering from serious health issues and not due to non-availability of oxygen.

Following reports of deaths of six persons at the hospital on Friday, the Minister inspected the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and sought details from the hospital superintendent on Sunday.

Later, addressing the media on the hospital premises, the Minister said that as many as 6 people from various parts of Nellore city were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospital between July 13 and July 21. Later, they were shifted to the general ward.

The Minister pointed out that there was adequate quantity of liquid Oxygen and 30 additional oxygen cylinders are available at the hospital.

He said the question of the patients dying due to non-availability of oxygen does not arise as they were not undergoing treatment at the ICU at the time of their deaths.

He said that there was no scarcity of either doctors or nurses at the hospital as the treatment is being provided round-the-clock with the availability of full-fledged infrastructure facilities.

The Minister said that most of the poor and middleclass people admit their kith and kin at the government hospitals at the last stage for various reasons including due to lack of nursing facility.

He said that politicians generally refer such cases to the GGH following pleas from the people. He appealed to the media not to spread false propaganda on the deaths as it would demoralise the doctors.