Oxygen concentrator bank started in Ludhiana for Covid patients at home

Device can be borrowed for ₹200 per day through www.ludhiana.nic.in with a doctor’s prescription, says deputy commissioner

The Red Cross Society has started an oxygen concentrator bank for Covid-19 patients getting treated at home.

The concentrator can be procured from the Red Cross Bhawan between 9am and 5pm. (HT FIle Photo)

Inaugurating the bank at the Red Cross Bhawan on Sunday, deputy commissioner Varinder Kumar Sharma said the bank had been set up with 25 oxygen concentrators, which will be given to patients under home isolation.

The concentrators, donated by an NGO, can be borrowed against a daily rent of ₹200 via an application on www.ludhiana.nic.in. A doctor’s prescription and a refundable security of ₹25,000, either by draft or cheque made out to the Red Cross Society, are mandatory. The applicant will be informed through phone within 12 hours if the application is accepted.

The concentrator can be procured from the Red Cross Bhawan between 9am and 5pm, and patients can also contact the helplines 94173-76655, 98784-50219 and 81465-55493.

The deputy commissioner said the concentrators will prove useful in the treatment of patients with mild symptoms and help reduce the caseload on hospitals.

Further, on the advice of a seven-member committee of doctors, hospitals have been allowed to give oxygen cylinders to cured patients for post-infection concerns. The DC said the administration will supply the oxygen to the hospitals as per demand, adding that Ludhiana had ample supply of the life-saving gas currently.

He was accompanied by additional deputy commissioner (D) Sandeep Kumar and civil surgeon Dr Kiran Ahluwalia Gill.