Oxygen crisis deepens: Oxygen plant failure at Dhanbad hospital leads to patient deaths; families demand urgent action amid escalating emergency

Dhanbad: The oxygen crisis at Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College and Hospital (SNMMCH) worsened on Sunday as the hospital's oxygen plant remained non-functional for the fourth consecutive day, leaving nearly 250 patients dependent entirely on oxygen cylinders.

The prolonged disruption has triggered panic among patients' families and intensified allegations that deaths have occurred due to delayed oxygen support. Hospital sources said at least three patients died recently allegedly after not receiving oxygen on time.

The latest incident was reported late Friday night, when Chamki Devi died during treatment. Her family members created a ruckus inside the hospital premises, alleging she died because oxygen was not made available on time. While Dulali Devi of Jharia died on Thursday, Jaidev of Baliapur passed away on Saturday under similar circumstances, according to relatives and hospital sources.

Attendants of admitted patients alleged that repeated requests to doctors and staff for adequate oxygen supply have not yielded result. Many claimed the available cylinders are insufficient to meet the demand, particularly for patients with respiratory illnesses, and said the uncertainty has left families anxious and angry.

Dhanbad civil surgeon Dr Alok Vishwakarma said he had no information about the matter and that SNMMCH administration functions independently without his direct intervention. His remarks drew criticism amid the escalating emergency.

Deputy commissioner Aditya Ranjan confirmed a technical failure at the oxygen plant and said a specialised team arrived to repair the system. He said some critical components needed for the repair were not available locally and had to be sourced from Ranchi. Ranjan said he hoped the parts would arrive by Monday and the plant would become operational soon after.

Hospital superintendent Dinesh Gindoria could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, as he did not respond to phone calls.

A technical team from Patna inspected the facility on Friday. During an examination on Saturday, a vital kit was found to have malfunctioned, preventing immediate restoration.

The oxygen plants were installed during the Covid-19. Of the three plants installed at SNMMCH, two reportedly remained defunct for the past two years, while the third stopped functioning four days ago, highlighting persistent gaps in hospital infrastructure.

Senior hospital manager Dr C S Suman denied that the deaths were caused by oxygen shortage, saying the fatalities occurred due to other medical complications. He said efforts were underway to restore the oxygen plant at the earliest.