As Romania fights the Covid wave 4, hospitals face the oxygen crisis

The oxygen crisis across the Romanian medical units is becoming a big issue that is already affecting several hospitals, including in Bucharest. In a month it is consumed as much oxygen as it was used in a year, so the oxygen consumption in hospitals has tripled.

The interim Minister of Health, Cseke Attila, confirmed on Friday that there are more and more managers who say that it is very difficult to get oxygen, especially oxygen cylinders.

“I had such requests yesterday (Thursday – n.r.), including in the city of Bucharest. I managed them – MoH with the Department for Emergency Situations . We are looking for solutions every day for these problems. We found the solution to bring oxygen cylinders from neighboring counties. In this situation, we contact the company that has the maintenance contract with the respective hospital, in order to give priority to emergency aid, so that the respective hospital does not run out of oxygen “, said Cseke Attila.

Two hospitals from Bucharest needed oxygen tanks on Thursday and obtained some from other counties at the last minute.

Four died in Târgu Cărbunești hospital

The oxygen-related problems would have been the ones that led to the dramatic situation at the hospital in Târgu Cărbunești on Friday, where four patients died due to oxygen shortages.

At the Hospital from Târgu Cărbunești, the red code was activated this morning, after the Covid patients ran out of oxygen. There were 150 patients in the hospital. Those in need of oxygen were manually ventilated in ambulances, and then their transfer to other hospitals began.

Three patients died and police opened a criminal case for culpable homicide.

According to the first information, the installation would have broken down, but Digi24 sources reported that the system was working, but it had not been powered, a fact detected by the public health inspectors who had come to the sanitary unit on Friday morning.