Tasaduq Hussain
Kupwara, May 19: The authorities in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district have placed three employees of the health department under suspension after at least 40 oxygen cylinders went missing from Sub District Hospital mysteriously.
Officials said that at least 40 oxygen cylinders are missing from Sub District Hospital (SDH), the lone COVID-19 dedicated facility in the Kupwara district.
They said that after a missing report of the cylinders at the most vital time an inquiry was ordered and initially three concerned storekeepers of the health department were suspended immediately while the investigation was launched to recover the oxygen cylinders.
Meanwhile, the Nodal officer for COVID-19 in Kupwara Ghulam Nabi Sheikh said that there is some issue with the staff entry and they are not missing from the COVID hospital rather the available stock in blocks.
“There is a discrepancy in the record and the actual cylinders and hopefully, it will be sorted by tomorrow but the matter is being inquired”, he said.
He said that any Covid positive patient requiring oxygen support is shifted to the designated facility for further treatment and no oxygen cylinders are provided for home isolation.
“In the next two days, one each Covid dedicated facilities are scheduled to come up at Langate and Sogam having a bed capacity of 50 with high flow oxygen support”, Sheikh said.
