Fault in oxygen-supply equipment kills 4 in Delhi hospital

New

, Dec 5: A fault in the

-supplying equipment in the intensive care unit (ICU) of one of Delhi government's largest trauma facilities left four patients

on Tuesday. Three of the four dead were victims of road accidents while the fourth was undergoing treatment for poisoning.

The fifth patient, Vikram Singh, 32, however, survived and was stable. All the five were on ventilator support at Sushrut Trauma Centre, the biggest in north Delhi. Families of the victims were blaming the centre authorities for the tragedy.

The trauma centre gets a large number of road-accident patients every day from northern Delhi, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, mainly because of its proximity to the Outer Ring Road, ISBT and National Highway 1. The angry kin of the four victims protested at the hospital and also filed a police complaint against the authorities.

The hospital authorities were probing the case and would submit a report soon, said police sources. Sindhu Pillai, Deputy Commissioner of police, north district, said an FIR would be registered once the investigation report was submitted.

Delhi Health Minister AK Walia set up a three-member panel, led by SB Shashank, special secretary (health), to look into the cause of the deaths and submit a report on Friday. He said the facility was outsourced to a private organisation for supplying and maintaining the oxygen level. He said an FIR would be filed if any negligence was proved.

OneIndia News