Govt to create oxygen reserves to handle distress calls by hospitals

"...no one in Delhi should suffer because of shortage of oxygen. All the hospitals in Delhi should increase their beds," Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said.

With the daily oxygen supply to the city still in flux, the Delhi government plans to create oxygen reserves at several points across the Capital to answer SOS calls by hospitals, senior AAP leader Raghav Chadha said on Friday. Delhi on Thursday received 577 MT of oxygen -- 153 MT less than the previous day’s supply of 730 MT.

People at an oxygen cylinder refilling centre at Bhogal on Friday. Delhi received 577MT oxygen on Thursday, compared to 730MT on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

“We have been creating SOS reserves stocked in various places in Delhi from where it will be supplied to hospitals in an emergency, if their regular supply is not initiated. For example, if a 300-bed hospital that was supposed to be delivered oxygen through a tanker from a designated company fails to get it due to some unforeseen circumstances, Team Kejriwal steps in,” said Chadha, who is monitoring the day-to-day oxygen supply in Delhi.

The acute dip in supply earned the Centre reproach from the Supreme Court on Friday. The apex court warned the Centre of “coercive steps” if there is any deficit in the future. The city is estimated to require at least 700 MT to sustain the critical care patient load and consistently lower supplies have caused several hospitals to reduce the number of beds, officials have said.

“We have been very clear that you have to give 700 MT to Delhi every day. We said it in our earlier order and also clarified this yesterday (Thursday). Don’t drive us to a situation where we have to take firm and coercive steps,” the bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and MR Shah told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre.

Chadha explained that multiple oxygen reserves will help the SOS tankers reach hospitals early. For instance, Batra hospital, where 12 patients including a senior doctor admitted to the hospital died for the want of oxygen on May 1, the tanker reached late because it was in Burari--over 30km away.

The Delhi government has been demanding 976 MT of oxygen to ensure that they are able to increase the number of oxygen beds by 15,000 and ICU beds by 1,200. “The supply of oxygen has to be regular. We cannot give sufficient oxygen one day because of increased supply and completely deprive the patients another day because the Centre decreased our supply,” said Chadha.

He added, “If the Kejriwal government wishes to substantially increase the number of these beds in Delhi to up to 40,000-45,000, it will need regular and uninterrupted supply of oxygen.”

In a high-level review meeting on Friday, chief minister minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted that nobody should die because of lack of oxygen. “Now that Delhi has received oxygen, no one in Delhi should suffer because of shortage of oxygen. All the hospitals in Delhi should increase their beds and every DM should arrange new oxygen beds in their districts so that no deaths happen due to lack of oxygen in Delhi.”

Hospitals such as Delhi government-run Rajeev Gandhi Super Speciality hospital in Tahirpur said they will start increasing the beds eventually but will monitor the oxygen supply for a couple of days. The hospital reduced its beds from 550 to 350 due to the uncertainty over oxygen supply.

Kejriwal also urged everyone to use oxygen efficiently and avoid wastage. Several hospital have already implemented measures such as restricting the number of patients being put on “oxygen-guzzler high flow nasal oxygen”.

The chief minister said, “The 48 oxygen plants should be installed immediately as soon as they reach Delhi. These plants have an oxygen production capacity of 40 tonnes. This will further help in improving Delhi’s oxygen situation.”

Kejriwal also expressed displeasure over complaints that patients in home isolation were not being given pulse oximeters, which was part of the protocol to manage those who were recuperating at home.