Cancer patient dies after disruption in oxygen supply; Doctor, Nurses Suspended

Jodhpur: A 24-year-old cancer patient has died due to an alleged disruption in oxygen supply caused by a power shutdown in the trauma centre at Jodhpur's Mathuradas Mathur (MDM) Hospital on Friday morning. Following this, a senior medical officer and two nurses have been dismissed from their duties.

The action was taken following a preliminary report by the inquiry committee constituted by the hospital administration. An Awaited Posting Order (APO) was issued on Saturday under the direction of Rajasthan Medical and Health Minister Gajendra Singh Khinvsar against the three officials which includes a senior medical officer Dr *** and two nurses.

The investigation was launched following a ruckus created by the deceased's family outside the hospital, where they accused the hospital administration of negligence leading to the patient's death. They claimed that both the senior male nurse and the doctor in charge of the ward were absent during the incident.

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According to the relatives, the patient had already passed away when a new oxygen cylinder was finally arranged. They further alleged that the doctor on duty was not present at the facility, and the male nurse was unable to manage the situation.

Speaking to TOI, a family member said, "Had they swung into action and resumed the supply of oxygen by making an alternative arrangement, the patient could have been saved."

A video of the dying patient has also surfaced on social media.

The deceased patient was a resident of Osian, who was admitted to the trauma zone with a first-stage lung cancer diagnosis on Thursday. The power supply at the hospital was shut down in the evening which disrupted the oxygen flow of the patient causing his demise on Friday morning. Despite efforts to utilize a generator and restore the power supply, these attempts proved unsuccessful, PTI reports.

ACO (West) Narendra Dayma told TOI, "The patient was kept on the ventilator in the red zone of the trauma centre of the hospital. The lights went off at about 4 am, causing the ventilator to drop the oxygen flow." 

MDM Hospital superintendent Vikas Rajpurohit said, "The patient had been switched to the oxygen point, but he died," adding that the generator had been switched on immediately. "We have initiated an inquiry into the matter, and whosoever is found guilty will be prosecuted," he further added.

Meanwhile, a parallel administrative inquiry has been ordered into the incident by the divisional commissioner. Additional District Magistrate Sanjay Basu will conduct the probe and submit a report by Monday.

To take note of the incident, Minister Gajendra Singh Khimsar reached the hospital on Saturday evening. He inspected the trauma centre and ward of the hospital and engaged in discussions with the patient's families and gathered information from the hospital administration regarding the hospital's services and the facilities it offers. 

Following this, he held a meeting and enquired about the incident from the hospital superintendent and directed him to take strict action against those responsible for it. He also directed the administration to take action against the ventilator supplier for the failure of its power backup system.

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