Dr Khan the hero who prevented more children from dying at Gorakhpur

Dr Khan loaded three cylinders in his car and rushed back to the hospital.

Had it not been for this doctor at the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, the death toll would have been much higher. Eye-witnesses have hailed him as a hero responsible for saving the lives of many children.

Dr Kafeel Khan, the head of the encephalitis ward and a paediatrician, managed to save many lives. Had it not been for him the death toll in the past 48 hours would have been more than 36. The parents of many children have hailed him as a hero.

On August 10, the central oxygen pipeline in the college premises started beeping, indicating low supply of the gas. The doctors and hospital staff knew that the supply could be maintained through emergency cylinders, but only for two hours.

Dr Khan was aware that only uninterrupted supply of oxygen to the children could save their lives. Calls to the supplier received a negative response. The supplier told the hospital to first clear the dues and then seek for supplies. There were frantic calls made to other suppliers too, but they refused to oblige.

Dr Khan drove two hospital employees to a friend's private nursing home and borrowed three oxygen cylinders. He had also instructed the junior doctors to keep pumping Ambu bags if the oxygen supply reduced further in the central pipeline.

Dr Khan loaded three cylinders in his car and rushed back to the hospital. The three cylinders were sufficient to provide only half and hour of supply to the central pipeline. Dr Khan made another round to private nursing homes and collected 12 more cylinders.

According to Gaurav Tripathi, an eye witness, Dr Khan also lent his debit card to one of the hospital staff and directed him to withdraw money. The money was used to bring in more oxygen cylinders. The money was also used to pay for diesel and other expenses to truck drivers who brought in the supplies from Faizabad.

OneIndia News