During the second wave of Karona, the Supreme Court task force related to the demand and supply of oxygen in Delhi has praised the central government in its report. This report states that the steps taken by the government in the first wave helped to increase the production of oxygen during the second wave. Several subgroups formed by it have said in their report that the Delhi government has overstated its demand for medical oxygen by four times.
A sub-group was formed under the leadership of AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria to audit matters related to the allocation of oxygen in Delhi. Also, during the Corona epidemic, the Supreme Court had constituted a National Task Force to streamline the oxygen supply and allocation across the country. The report presented by the National Task Force constituted by the Supreme Court to formulate and suggest a mechanism for the allocation of oxygen, states that in March and April 2020, the central government had taken several effective steps and during the first wave, the central government Due to the steps taken, it helped to increase production quickly at the time of the second web. During the first wave, the Government of India had taken several steps to increase the availability of liquid oxygen and this helped in the immediate oxygen availability during the second wave.
The sub-group formed to audit the oxygen consumption of the Supreme Court has said that the Delhi government has increased the oxygen consumption and claimed that 1140 metric tonnes is needed, but this claim was four times. According to the hospital beds, the requirement was 289 metric tonnes. On 30 April, the Delhi government had also used the wrong formula for the demand of 700 metric tonnes. The report said that there is a huge discrepancy in the claim of the Delhi government of 1140 metric tonnes of actual consumption. The demand was four times the consumption.
According to the data, the actual consumption of 183 hospitals was 1140 metric tonnes, but after correcting the information of hospitals, this figure has been found to be 209 metric tonnes. It was also said that when the cases were at peak in the second wave, then many flaws were found in the claim of demand of 700 metric tonnes of medical oxygen. The report said that the Delhi government had claimed that its formula for oxygen demand was based on the ICMR guidelines, but no such guidelines were presented to it.
Generally, there was a requirement of 284 to 372 metric tonnes of medical oxygen in Delhi, but more supply had to be done here and there was an effect elsewhere. The Delhi government made additional claims and it was not clear on what basis Delhi had demanded 700 metric tonnes before the Supreme Court. The audit found deficiencies in the data. The subgroup set up to audit oxygen consumption said it had claimed 700 metric tonnes of oxygen allocation on April 30 which was based on a wrong formula. The report has been given by the subgroup headed by AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria.
The report said that oxygen demand had increased significantly in April 2021. It had reached 5500 metric tonnes per day. In the third week of April, this increase had reached 7100 metric tonnes per day. On May 9, the consumption level was 8943 metric tonnes. The 12-member task force said that the central government had proactively taken several steps last year and during this time arrangements were made for liquid oxygen, storage etc., which helped in the second wave and helped in increasing the production during this period.
The National Task Force said that the central government had worked hard for oxygen management during the first wave. Under this, the center worked to increase the availability of liquid oxygen and also took steps for the storage of liquid medical oxygen. The Center also supported for Oxygen Generation Plant PSA. Also, the report states that the National Health Authority is currently making an oxygen demand aggregation system.
Extra stock of oxygen for two to three weeks in view of epidemic
The National Task Force of Medical Experts from across the country, constituted by the Supreme Court to formulate the allocation mechanism for oxygen, in its report presented before the court, has suggested that an additional stock of oxygen gas should be kept for consumption for two to three weeks. Oxygen should be stored on the basis of the arrangements made for petroleum products across the country. Additional reserves are needed and should be there to deal with emergency situations.
20 percent more storage needed than demand
On May 6, the Supreme Court had asked for a mechanism to be made to streamline the system in the matter of supply of oxygen in the wake of Kovid across the country. The Special Task Force had said that there should be additional reserves for two to three weeks of consumption. All hospitals should have additional storage for emergencies. Regarding the supply of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO), he said that 20 percent more storage is needed than the demand in the states with increasing cases of Kovid. The task force says that there is a need to increase the production of LMOs to prepare for the upcoming pandemic.
Oxygen plant also needs to be installed
The Special Task Force has also said that oxygen production units should be made mandatory in all hospitals including medical colleges and district hospitals. All district hospitals should have PSA plants with compressors to fill cylinders of ambulances, PHCs and CHCs and meet their requirements. The task force says that hospitals with 100 or more beds need to be encouraged to install oxygen plants. Policies will have to be made for oxygen supply in rural areas, including installation of PSA plants in sensitive areas. In the 163-page report in the Supreme Court, all the suggestions have been given.
Recommended formula for oxygen supply
The National Task Force has also suggested a formula to determine the need for oxygen keeping in mind all the levels during the corona. The task force has stated that if there is a hospital with 100 beds and 25 ICU beds, then the requirement of MMO (Liquid Medical Oxygen) will be 1.5 MT. The Tax Force said that the same formula can be used. However, it may change according to the circumstances. The task force says that hospitals should be audited, their pipeline mechanism should also be seen. In this way, 10-20 percent oxygen can be saved. According to the directions of the Supreme Court, audit committees should be constituted in every state.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency/news feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor.
