COVID-19 infected patients with oxygen cylinders sitting in the lawns of Chest Diseases Hospital at Bakshi Nagar reminded of horrific scenes of lack of oxygen supplies in various hospitals of the country, creating panic among the people in Jammu.
Eyewitnesses said that it was unfortunate that a number of COVID-19 infected patients were made to sit in an open area with oxygen cylinders.
It was alleged that the patients were sitting in the lawn with the oxygen cylinders since the hospital’s intake capacity was over.
However, the hospital authorities declined the allegations.
“The COVID-19 infected patients first come to CD Hospital for their screening and were shifted to other hospitals for further treatment,” said an official, who wished not to be named.
The officials said that it takes time to get infected patients screened and then shifted to the designated hospitals for further treatment.
“The patients coming to the hospitals have to get their tests like CT-Scan done. As they waited outside in the lawn of the hospital, we provided oxygen cylinders to them after which they were admitted in respective hospitals following their screening,” a senior official of the hospital said.
“An attempt was made to spread panic among the people without clearing the facts,” he said denying that the hospital lacked beds to accommodate the patients infected with COVID-19.
The official said that they had received and examined 125 COVID-19 infected patients from 10 am to 4 pm.
“Of 125, we admitted 22 COVID-19 patients in different hospitals including eight in GMC Jammu, 10 in Gandhi Nagar, one at HDU ward in GMC, and three at Chest Diseases Hospital, Bakshi Nagar,” he said.
The official said that at present the CD Hospital has 94 patients including 12 in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), three on ventilators, and 80 patients on high-flow oxygen.
“The CD Hospital has a capacity of 110 patients,” he said.
The official said that they had conducted high-resolution CT-Scans of 40 patients.
“We have adequate beds for the patients. However, there might be a possibility that the patients have to wait for some time because we sanitise the area whenever patients are discharged after their recovery, or shifted to another hospital, or infected patients die,” he said.