Veena George mourns patient's death after oxygen concentrator fails during power cut

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 17 (PTI) Former Kerala Minister Veena George on Friday expressed grief over the death of a patient in Kerala's Palakkad due to lack of oxygen as the oxygen concentrator machine he was using stopped working due to a power cut. George said that the incident was brought to light by a healthworker who was called by the family of the patient when he started facing breathing difficulties after the concentrator at their home stopped working. The CPI(M) leader said that when the machine stopped working due to the power cut, the patient's oxygen saturation decreased. She also said, in her Facebook post, that according to the healthworker's social media post, when the family called the local office of Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the official present there asked why an inverter was not purchased. "There are many families who cannot afford to buy an inverter and a generator. The incident came to light through the social media post of healthworker Chithra Abhay," George said, terming it as "heartbreaking". She alleged that lives were being lost due to the government's negligence and contended that it was an extremely serious situation. In her post, the healthworker states that the family called her in the morning saying that the patient was not breathing and when she reached their home, she found that he had died. Chithra said that the patient has been discharged from the hospital last week with oxygen support, which he required constantly, and around midnight there was a power cut and the oxygen concentrator he was using stopped working. As a result his oxygen levels dropped to dangerous levels and when the family called the KSEB office, the reply they got was -- 'why did you not purchase an inverter?' she said. After the power came back, the machine was started, but the patient's condition did not improve and by 6am he died, she said in her post. Addressing the people in power, she further said in her post that "as you push the state into darkness, you should remember that there are many lives which die without being able to breathe as not everyone can afford to buy oxygen cylinders or inverters". George said that on seeing the post, she was reminded of the COVID pandemic times when no one in Kerala died due to lack of oxygen availability as "hospitals were made self-sufficient in oxygen and oxygen beds were arranged on a war footing". She said that now a person died in Kerala due to lack of oxygen supply as a result of the power cuts which till three months ago was something unheard of by the children of the new generation. "Now, there are many power cuts in one day! The government must end its silence," she contended in her post. PTI HMP ROH