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DDMA drwas up plan to regulate oxygen distribution of oxygen
The order, issued by chief secretary Vijay Dev, also came in the backdrop of complaints received by hospitals with low bed strength that they were receiving no help from government agencies.
A day after the Delhi high court asked the city administration to prepare a detailed logistics plan for optimum oxygen supply to hospitals for Covid-19 treatment, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Thursday issued a seven-point action plan which included strict demand-based supply of oxygen to all healthcare facilities, seamless transportation of tankers till the Capital’s borders, a 24x7 control room to resolve emergency calls from hospitals within 30 minutes and constituting oxygen audit committees in all hospitals.
The order, issued by chief secretary Vijay Dev, also came in the backdrop of complaints received by hospitals with low bed strength that they were receiving no help from government agencies.
“The sudden spurt in Covid-19 cases and the high positivity rate have led to a large number of hospital admissions. A high proportion of patients are on supplemental oxygen and under ICU care and this has led to a quantum increase in medical oxygen requirement in various Covid related health establishments…. Consequently, in many cases, the existing contractual arrangements have either been disturbed or the health facility’s oxygen requirement has exceeded the contractual quantity, thereby leading to widespread disruption in the supply chain leading to a precarious situation. Furthermore, local supply side disruptions in the neighbouring states is leading to wide variation in day to day delivery of oxygen to Delhi,” the DDMA order read.
From Friday, the Delhi government will issue a daily schedule specifying the oxygen allocation to every healthcare facility in the city, the order said.
Stating that the allocation and supply of oxygen within the city will be “strictly regulated”, the rules stated: “The allocation order shall supersede any existing contractual arrangements entered into by any facility with any supplier until further orders.”
The DDMA also appointed three IAS officers to oversee the demand-supply chain, the transportation and the grievance redressal mechanism of hospitals.
Ashish Verma, OSD in Delhi government’s health department has been asked to ensure proper distribution of oxygen from the suppliers to the hospitals, once the tankers enter the city. Udit Prakash Rai, special secretary (health) has been asked to ensure smooth and seamless movement of tankers up to Delhi borders. He has also been asked to sort out all issues raised by suppliers.
Vijay Bidhuri, MD, Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), has been tasked with controlling, coordinating and facilitating the supply of oxygen to all health establishments.
“A 24x7 control room shall function under Bidhuri. The control room shall also operate a help desk manned by a SDM level officer and 8 other officers for redressing all the grievances and complaints received from all hospitals (Central govt, state govt and private) within half an hour of the receipt of the grievances and complaints. If the grievances/complaints received are not redressed within half an hour, then it shall be the responsibility of Bidhuri to look into the issues and resolve the same,” the order read.
The DDMA also asked the Delhi Police to monitor and control seamless and safe movement of all the oxygen tankers, appointing special commissioner of police Muktesh Chander as the nodal officer provide all help, support and security logistics in respect of movements of all tankers from the manufacturers sites to the various hospitals as per the allocation orders.
It also asked all hospitals to appoint an audit committee for supervising and rationalising the use of medical oxygen. These committees will have to collect data on usage and stock of oxygen and submit daily reports. Every hospital has been asked to also appoint a nodal officer who shall be available round the clock for any matter relating to coordination and redressal of grievances pertaining to medical oxygen.
The DDMA stated that anyone found violating these rules will be preceded against as per the provisions of sections 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code, and other applicable laws.
