Coimbatore hospitals stop admission fearing Oxygen shortage

Chennai: Many of the hospitals in Coimbatore are turning away patients with breathing difficulties as they are expecting a shortage of Oxygen even as these hospitals have beds with Oxygen supply at present.

A doctor with a leading hospital in Coimbatore while speaking to IANS said, "We are not admitting new patients as we fear that the Oxygen we have at present may not be sufficient for our existing patients. We are indeed facing a crisis and have to get a huge supply of oxygen and to add extra beds to tide over this."

However, relatives of patients have found that there were ample beds with Oxygen available in these hospitals on Saturday night.

Ramanarayanan, brother of a patient who was turned away by a hospital in Coimbatore said that there are a good number of beds available but hospitals are turning away patients.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to immediately convene an all-party meeting to collectively forge a holistic blueprint to tackle the COVID pandemic.

In a letter to the prime minister, he alleged that the Union government seems to have abdicated its duties towards the people and the situation requires a collective and consensual effort. He also sent his set of six suggestions to tackle the crisis due to the pandemic and said the Prime Minister's Office alone cannot handle it. "I request you to convene an all party meeting to collectively forge a holistic blueprint to tackle the pandemic. This would be a good opportunity for us to meaningfully reflect on, and implement the recommendations of experts and activists, whose advice has unfortunately been ignored so far," he told the prime minister. Kharge said he is writing to convey his deep concern and a sense of anguish regarding the unprecedented crisis the nation faces.