Three patients died at Jalandhar Civil Hospital due to a failure in the oxygen supply system. After a preliminary investigation Punjab Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh confirmed serious negligence by the hospital’s management and took strict action against the responsible staff.
Dr. Balbir Singh stated that the hospital had two oxygen machines and four backup sources to handle any drop in pressure. Despite this the oxygen supply was interrupted due to poor management.
He added that the government had already provided funds for a power backup system and hotline connection, which made the incident even more unacceptable. If the oxygen had been managed properly and made available in time the lives of the patients could have been saved.
Following the investigation, three senior officers were suspended—Dr. Raj Kumar, the Medical Superintendent, Dr. Surjit Singh, SMO and Dr. Sonakshi the Anesthesia Specialist. Dr. Sharminder Singh the House Surgeon was dismissed from his post. According to the Health Minister the actions taken were based on findings by a technical team and the Deputy Director, who reported major failures in managing the crisis. He warned that if the suspended officers fail to give satisfactory answers, they may be removed from service permanently.
The Minister also pointed out that the hospital had sufficient staff on duty at the time of the incident, including medical officers, house surgeons and trainee doctors yet the response was highly disappointing. He said the deaths occurred purely due to negligence.
No post-mortem was done on the patients because their families were unwilling and there was no police case filed. As a result, it is still not clear whether the deaths happened due to a lack of oxygen or the patients’ already serious health conditions.
The hospital administration claimed that the cause of death cannot be confirmed without post-mortems. Meanwhile the technical investigation is still ongoing and the hospital’s oxygen plant was repaired on the Monday following the tragedy.
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