Insult to those who are still grieving: Kin of Covid-19 victims ask govt to not rub salt on their wounds

Rahul and Rekha Verma have saved Ram’s sewing machine in his memory

Even as the Centre claimed this week that there have been no Covid-19 deaths due to oxygen shortage and the Maharashtra government backed it on Thursday, families of those who died in hospital due to alleged oxygen shortage in April have said that the government is lying. The second wave was filled with scenes of oxygen shortages at hospitals treating Covid-19 patients.

In mid-April, seven people admitted to the ICU at Vinayaka Hospital died within a span of three hours. While relatives alleged that the deaths were due to lack of oxygen, the hospital said the patients were all brought in a critical condition.

"I lost my father who was admitted to the ICU of Vinayaka Hospital in Nalasopara. The hospital ran out of oxygen and they did not inform us on time, else I would have taken him to another hospital or arranged oxygen at home," said Rahul Verma.

Relatives outside Vinayaka Hospital in Nalasopara East on April 12. Pics/Hanif Patel

Ram Babu Verma, 55, was admitted to the hospital in a critical condition on April 5 after his oxygen concentration level dipped to 45. "But he was recovering in the ICU," said his wife, Rekha, 52.

Rahul said, "His oxygen level had reached around 90 and he was about to get discharged from the hospital in the next few days. On April 12, I got numerous calls from the hospital staff asking me to pay the bending bill but they did not tell me that my father had died," he said.

"I was asked to immediately reach the hospital in the afternoon. I saw a number of patients' relatives in a state of panic. But the guards did not let us inside," said Rahul, who is a plumber. "I learned from the nearby tea shop that the hospital has been out of oxygen for four hours. This terrified me as my father was on oxygen support," he said.

In response to relatives' claims of oxygen shortage, Vinayaka Hospital said that the seven patients who died were brought in a critical condition

When Rahul managed to reach the ICU, he saw doctors trying to revive his father who was lying motionless. "My father was already dead when I entered the ICU but I was kept in the dark by the hospital staff. I suspect that my father died around 10 am on April 12 but the doctors informed me around 5.30 pm and his body was given to us by 10 pm," said Rahul.

Ram was a tailor by profession. After Ram's death, Rahul and Rekha have preserved his sewing machine as a token of his memory. "We don't lie like the politicians who say there were no deaths of Covid-19 patients due to oxygen shortages. Why then did a number of patients admitted to the ICU die within a few hours?" Rahul said.

"The government is talking based on documents that can be manipulated for vested interests. They should come and ask me about the oxygen emergency. I lost the head of my family, please don't make fun of our emotions," Rahul said.

Rekha added, "Even as the hospital says that the deceased were brought to the hospital in a critical condition, two or three days before his death, the doctors had told me that my husband will be discharged in two days. My husband was not critical. But who will listen to us?"

Today, Rahul provides for the house through his plumbing work. The family also lost Ram's mother six days after his death.

‘White lies'

Rizwan Qadri, 51, who used to work at a pharmacy, was among the dead at Vinayaka Hospital. "We are from Malwani but could not find a bed in Mumbai. We were very happy to get a bed at Vinayaka Hospital," said his wife, Rashida. "My sister-in-law Shaheen Hadadi used to take food from Mohammed Ali Road to Nalasopara for him. She was not allowed to enter the hospital," she said.

Rizwan Qadri in the ICU of Vinayaka Hospital

"My husband died in the ICU as the hospital ran out of oxygen. We saw the readings on the monitor in the ICU were nil. Yet, the doctors lied to us and said they are reviving him," she said, adding, "He must have died around noon but the doctors confirmed his death around 6 pm."

"Those who are making baseless comments saying no one died due to lack of oxygen during the second wave are telling a white lie. If you can't heal our wounds, at least don't make irresponsible comments which hurt a bereaved family," said Rashida, who used to take tuitions but after Rizwan's death, scared parents stopped sending their kids to her. Rashida is raising two sons with the help of relatives as the family currently has no income.

‘Wanted speedy recovery'

Ranjanben Shah was also among those gasping for air at Vinayaka Hospital. Her niece, Krishna Patel, said, "Her oxygen level was improving. But the hospital ran out of oxygen and she died in the ICU. We had kept her in the hospital for a speedy recovery. We never imagined she'd die for lack of oxygen."

Rahul Verma

"I wish I had kept her home quarantined instead of admitting her to the hospital," said Patel, who was taking care of Shah.

"The government has made a shameful comment and played with the emotions of people who lost loved ones," Patel added.

‘Hospital moved my sister'

A 42-year-old mother of two was another Covid-19 patient who died while being shifted to the NESCO Jumbo Covid Centre in Goregaon from Phoenix Hospital in Borivli West, after the former ran out of oxygen.

"Doctors at Phoenix Hospitals Pvt Limited in Borivli West told me that my sister Rajashree Khanvilkar must be shifted as they are running out of oxygen. We were not in favour of shifting her out of the hospital; we also consulted our family doctor who suggested we keep her there but the doctors at the hospital kept badgering me with calls to shift her as they had limited oxygen cylinders which were to last only for a few more hours," Rajesh Karkera, Khanvilkar's brother, said.

Ram Verma, Ranjanben Shah, Rizwan Qadri and Rajashree Khanvilkar

"In the wee hours of April 13, we decided to shift her to the NESCO facility where doctors and other hospital staff were patiently waiting," he added.

"My sister was taken out of the ICU of Phoenix Hospital like a sack of potatoes while shifting to the ambulance. Her oxygen level was around 80 per cent and she, too, was not willing to go anywhere," he recalled.

"By the time we reached NESCO, a team of doctors rushed to our ambulance but she had already breathed her last," said Karkera. While her death certificate mentioned cardiac arrest as the cause of death, Karkera said that the pressure of oxygen, when administered through a cylinder, is less than when it is administered in an ICU. The lower pressure of oxygen may have worsened Khanvilkar's condition, he suspects.

Khanvilkar was to be the principal of a school, said Karkera, adding, "The doctors at Phoenix hospital clearly told me that they are running out of oxygen, but the government is saying that no one died of oxygen shortage in the pandemic. I did lose my sister."

April 12
The day seven patients died at Vinayaka Hospital due to alleged lack of oxygen