All Delhi hospitals should install oxygen plants: HC

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh directed the principal secretary, Delhi government, to look into the issue and file a status report by May 27.

All hospitals in Delhi having more than 100 beds should install pressure swing absorption (PSA) oxygen plants with a capacity of at least twice their requirement of medical oxygen in view of the “bitter experience” that the city had recently due to shortage of supply and the lessons learnt from it.

The bench also said that even the smaller hospitals and nursing homes with 50 to 100 beds should also have PSA plants to meet their requirement. (Mint file photo)

A bench of justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh directed the principal secretary, Delhi government, to look into the issue and file a status report by May 27.

“The bitter experience that everyone in the NCT of Delhi has had with huge shortage of medical oxygen has certainly left a lesson to be learnt particularly by hospitals and nursing homes operating in Delhi,” the bench said.

“Considering that the pandemic is once in a century and hopefully we will see the end of it sooner or later, we are of the view that larger hospitals with 100-bedded facilities or more should have their own PSA plants which should have a capacity of at least two times of their normal requirement,” it added.

A PSA plant uses sieves that absorb nitrogen from ambient air to concentrate oxygen for supply to hospitals or the industry. The oxygen is then supplied either through a pipeline or is compressed to fill cylinders.

The court said these directions should be complied with by all the hospitals in the national capital, which comes under the Delhi government, the central government, municipal corporations and others and it should also be followed in case of new hospitals.

The Centre’s counsel told the court that some plants which are to be installed have not been received as they form part of the aid being received from several countries.

Senior advocate Rahul Mehra, appearing for the Delhi government, told the court that for the Delhi government, five plants have been commissioned and 32 are yet to come up.

He said the Centre and the Delhi government shall designate nodal officers, sufficiently senior, to monitor the aspect of supply and installation of PSA plants inhospitals, if not done already.

The court warned authorities that they should not relax after the recent dip in Covid-19 cases in the national capital as “there is a likelihood that the virus would again raise its ugly head”, and reminded them to create a buffer stock of liquid medical oxygen (LMO).

The high court said it is the duty of the Centre and the Delhi government to ensure that they are again not caught underprepared to deal with the situation.

“If you have not taken steps, we will come and chase you again. We are telling you, we mean business. Please don’t take it lightly we are again warning you,” the bench said.

The Delhi government told the court that it has created a buffer stock of 419 metric tonnes of LMO at different locations here and they are making arrangements for creating further stock in next 10 days.

The court also asked the Delhi government to make its Delhi Fights Corona website bilingual since many people don’t understand English.

The bench also warned private hospitals and nursing homes here that failure to comply with directions to update data on occupancy and availability of beds for Covid-19 patients in their institutions will invite precipitate actions.

The bench also asked the Centre, the Delhi government and municipal corporations to provide accommodation to all the health workers, who are willing to avail it, so that they do not carry the Covid-19 infection to their homes and infect their family members.

The high court also asked the Delhi government to examine issuing an order under the Disaster Management Act so that such facilities are also made available to health workers of private and charitable hospitals in the city.

“In our view, it is desirable that such a facility is available to all frontline workers since it is likely that they may carry the infection to homes and infect family members,” the court said.

The court, which asked the Delhi government, Centre and the MCDs to file their respective reports in this regard, also directed Delhi Police to file a status report on the facilities available to their personnel and listed the issue for hearing on May 24.