Darjeeling, Dec. 2: Relatives of a 38-year-old admitted to the Darjeeling district hospital this morning has alleged that the patient was put on an “empty” oxygen cylinder.

Rinzen Lama, a resident of Rajbari, was brought to the hospital about 7.30am with liver problem and was gasping for breath. “When we came to visit him at 8.15am, we found that the oxygen cylinder given to him was empty. This is gross negligence and we demand immediate action against the erring staff of the hospital,” said Yuraj Lama, Rinzen’s nephew.

Yuraj claimed that one of their acquaintances was an ambulance driver attached with the district hospital. “He told us how to check if a cylinder was empty or not. We realised that there were no bubbles in the water container which indicated that the cylinder is empty,” he said.

From the cylinder, a pipe leads to a half-filled water bottle before it supplies oxygen to the patient.

“We immediately informed the nurse who behaved rudely with us and directed us to the higher authorities. Later, a ward boy brought another cylinder from the next floor and administered it to my uncle,” said Yuraj. The nurses on duty, however, alleged that Rinzen’s relatives misbehaved with them, an allegation refuted by Yuraj.

The “empty” cylinder was brought to the office of the superintendent of the hospital Ranajit Ghosh who, however, did not immediately confirm whether the cylinder was empty or not.

“I have started an inquiry and action will be taken against those found guilty,” said Ghosh. There were enough oxygen cylinders at the hospital. An oxygen cylinder can be used for anything between 24 and 36 hours, said Ghosh.

Rinzen’s relatives had a heated argument with the nursing staff at Ghosh’s chamber alleging that many of the employees were not on duty.

The patient is still in the hospital and his condition is improving, sources said.