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After oxygen cylinders,concentrators and BiPap machines go out of stock in Delhi
An oxygen concentrator pulls in air, compresses it, and removes impurities through its filters. A BiPap (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) machine, meanwhile, is a device used to administer non-invasive ventilation in a patient.
The crippling surge in Covid-19 cases in the city has led not just to an alarming shortage of medical oxygen, but also a severe scarcity of domestic oxygen concentrators and BiPap machines, with additional stocks unlikely to arrive before three weeks, said several vendors in the Capital.
“The situation is so dire that we want the government to intervene and distribute oxygen concentrators to Covid-19 patients with moderate symptoms so that they can be treated at home and the load is taken off from hospitals. Just like the Delhi government distributed pulse oximeters, they should also procure oxygen concentrators on a war-footing and distribute them at subsidised rates, if not for free. This will prevent black-marketing, hoarding and overpricing,” said Manan Sethi of MediExpress, one of the seven major distributors of oxygen concentrators and BiPap machines in north India.
He said such a move would mean losses for companies like their’s, but he added that there is no other alternative left. “When Covid-19 cases ebbed in Delhi around February, we used to receive only around 10-15 calls a day. But now, we get at least 300 calls every day. Till a few days ago, the demand for oxygen cylinders was very high. Now, the demand for oxygen concentrators at home has gone through the roof. We do not have a single piece left. The story is going to be similar for bipap machines soon,” Sethi said.
An oxygen concentrator pulls in air, compresses it, and removes impurities through its filters. A BiPap (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure) machine, meanwhile, is a device used to administer non-invasive ventilation in a patient.
Vendors in Old Delhi’s Bhagirath Palace, a hub for medical equipment in the city, said they have placed fresh orders, but consignments are unlikely to arrive before May 14.
“Most of these machines are imported from China, Taiwan and the USA. The two biggest manufacturers of domestic-use oxygen concentrators in the country — BPL Medical Technologies and Philips — said they are out of stock. Manufacturing fresh batches will also take time since a lot of the raw material also comes from the US and China,” said a store manager at Jullundur Surgical store, one of the biggest stores in the market.
An oxygen concentrator costs between ₹30,000- ₹70,000.
But vendors acknowledged that prices have now doubled. “We are not raising the cost to increase our profit margin. The companies in China, especially those we mostly procure from have doubled their rates. Earlier due to lack of demand, our orders used to come by road. Now we are even using trains, for which we have to pay the companies separately,” said another distributor, who asked not to be named.
Dr SP Byotra, chairman of the department of internal medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital said scores of Covid-19 patients could have been treated at home if the governments had prepared in advance and arranged enough oxygen concentrators when cases dropped.
“Covid-19 patients whose viral load is not very high, or those whose oxygen saturation drops off and on, or the elderly can definitely be put on oxygen concentrators at home. But there are none available in Delhi. Patients come to us asking for it, but we are also unable to give them leads now,” he said.
