A day after four patients died due to an alleged malfunctioning of the oxygen supply equipment at Sushruta Trauma Centre in Civil Lines here, the police have arrested two persons in connection with the case which seems to be one of medical negligence.
The arrested persons – Madan Lal Sharma and Amit Singh Katoch -- are both employees of the private company entrusted with the supply and maintenance work at the hospital’s Centralised Gas Plant.
While Sharma was a supervisor at the CGP, Katoch worked as a technician and both had the responsibility of regulating the oxygen supply, said the police. One of them purportedly switched off the oxygen supply while carrying out some repair work at the plant.
Based on a complaint by the hospital, a case had been registered under section 287 and 304-A of the Indian Penal Code against the company.
On Tuesday four critically ill patients who were on ventilator in the intensive care unit had died due to an interruption in the oxygen supply from the Centralised Gas Plant of the government-run hospital.
Meanwhile, 63-year-old Vikram, another person who was on ventilator in the ICU of the government-run hospital died on Wednesday. Vikram, a resident of Ghaziabad, was brought to the hospital after he sustained injuries in an accident. Vikram’s son Ombir alleged that his father died because of negligence of the hospital.
However, Delhi Health Minister A.K. Walia pointed out that the time lag between the death of Vikram and that of others was more than 24 hours and his death thus could not be attributed to the CGP failure.
The tragedy has left at least one family without its main earning member. Mahendra, son of Raj Kumari, who died on Tuesday, said his mother was the only earning member in the family of six.
