'Last resort': Desperate for oxygen, Indian hospitals go to court
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[May 04, 2021]
By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -A court in India's
capital New Delhi has become the last hope for many hospitals struggling
to get oxygen for COVID-19 patients as supplies run dangerously short
while government officials bicker over who is responsible.
A two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court has been holding almost daily
video conferences to hear petitions from hospitals invoking India's
constitutional right to protection of life. Local and federal officials
are attending.
The court's intervention has saved lives, lawyers say.
On Sunday, with just 30 minutes of oxygen left for 42 virus patients at
Sitaram Bhartia hospital, and new supplies nowhere in sight, hospital
authorities approached the Delhi court as a "last resort" for help,
lawyer Shyel Trehan said.
The judges ordered the Delhi state government to immediately arrange
supplies.
"Oxygen cylinders arrived soon after the hearing, and a tank arrived a
few hours later," Trehan said.
The shortage of medical oxygen has plagued the city of 20 million people
for about two weeks, with unprecedented scenes of patients dying on
hospital beds, in ambulances and in carparks outside, gasping for air.
Delhi is recording about 20,000 new COVID-19 cases a day. As the health
system buckles, the city says it needs 976 tonnes of medical oxygen
daily, but gets less than 490 tonnes, allocated by the federal
government.
Representatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which is
managing supplies nationally, have told the court they were doing all
that is possible, and blamed the Delhi government, run by a rival party,
for politicizing the issue.
The panel of two judges, Vipin Sanghi and Rekha Palli, has heard lawyers
for Modi and the local administration spar over oxygen quotas, transport
problems and a lack of tankers.
And sometimes, the judges have lost their cool.
Over the weekend, when Delhi state representatives again flagged
concerns that oxygen supplies were not arriving in time, putting
patients' lives at risk, Justice Sanghi lashed out at officials, saying
the "Water has gone over the head. Enough is enough...enough is enough."
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Patients suffering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) get
treatment at the casualty ward in Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP)
hospital, amidst the spread of the disease in New Delhi, India April
15, 2021. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo
In late April, Sanghi pulled up government officials,
saying they should "beg, borrow, steal or import" oxygen supplies to
meet the city's needs,
He said the state "cannot say 'We can provide only this much and no
more,' so if people die, let them die".
'LIKE WATER FOR FISH'
Both governments, federal and that of Delhi, are facing criticism
for not being adequately prepared for the surge in infections. Since
late April, some of the city's best hospitals have asked the court
for help.
"Not only is this unprecedented, but right now this (court) hearing
is literally like water is for fish," said Prabhsahay Kaur, another
lawyer who approached the court for a hospital's oxygen needs and
got help.
Still, scenes of desperation, urgency and frustration play out every
day.
At one hearing last week, a lawyer for the local government called
an oxygen supplier by telephone, putting the call on speaker, to ask
why cylinders had not reached one hospital, while the judges
patiently listened to the answers.
On Sunday, one lawyer broke into arguments to say his hospital had
just one hour of oxygen supplies left, while simultaneously another
person pleaded that patients could "start dying" at his facility.
Minutes later, another loud voice said: "One hundred and forty
patients. One hour left. We are in trouble ... there is a crisis,"
as a judge tried to calm the speaker and urged state authorities to
take immediate action.
In another exchange, a home ministry official said its officers were
working on a war footing and sought the blessings of the court.
India's Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the federal
government, said, "We desperately need ... God's blessings".
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi; Editing by Raju
Gopalakrishnan)
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