Maintain adequate stock of oxygen: UP government to medical colleges

The UP government has asked all the medical colleges to ensure that there is no shortage of medicines or oxygen, days after at least 72 children died in a state-run institute in Gorakhpur, an official said today.

The Uttar Pradesh government's medical education department, in a letter to the medical colleges, also directed them to immediately pay all the outstanding dues to the oxygen suppliers (if any).

"After the Gorakhpur tragedy, we have issued a written order to all the nine government medical colleges and 12 other prominent medical institutes in the state to ensure that there is no shortage of any medicine or oxygen in the hospitals," additional chief secretary, medical education, Anita Bhatnagar Jain told PTI.

"If there is any pending payment, which is yet to be made to any gas supplier, then it should be done immediately. There should be no shortage of oxygen in the institute, and adequate stock of oxygen must be maintained," Jain said.

The principals of all the medical colleges in the state have also been told to personally ensure that there is no shortage of any medicine or oxygen, and no laxity in this regard will be tolerated, she said.

"The deaths of children in Baba Raghav Das (BRD) Medical College in Gorakhpur was not because of shortage of oxygen.

The payment for gas supply in BRD Medical College was already done.

"Principals of all the medical colleges have been told to personally ensure that there is no shortage of any medicine or oxygen. They have also been told to personally monitor the gas level. There should not be any delay in making payments. If there is any problem, then it must be conveyed to the state government at the earliest," Jain said.

Under pressure over the death of at least 30 children at the BRD Medical College in his home district Gorakhpur, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath yesterday refuted the reports that oxygen shortage led to the tragedy and blamed its principal for not bringing the issue before him.

The incident has triggered outrage with the Samajwadi Party and the Congress seeking the resignation of state health minister Siddharth Nath Singh.

The Congress has also demanded the resignation of the chief minister.