Oxygen audit: PMC rectify lacuna in five hospitals
Pune: After the Nashik tragedy, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has found lacuna in oxygen supply system in five civic-run hospitals during the audit of oxygen tanks
Pune: After the Nashik tragedy, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has found lacuna in oxygen supply system in five civic-run hospitals during the audit of oxygen tanks.
Pune divisional commissioner Saurabh Rao has formed a seven-member committee to check fire audits of medical centres in Pune zilla parishad, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations. The committee will work under the chairmanship of Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) chief executive officer (CEO) Suhas Divase, upper district collector Vijaysinha Deshmukh, Pune district chief medical officer, assistant director of town planning, PMC and PCMC fire chief officer and executive engineer of Public Works Department ( electrical division).
With the rise in Covid cases, hospitals are increasing oxygen and ventilators beds which are putting extra pressure on existing systems of hospitals like electrical and fire systems.
Kunal Khemnar, additional municipal commissioner said, “We are carrying out audit of the medical oxygen supply system installed at various hospitals in the city. We have given priority to PMC-run seven Covid hospitals. The audit is carried out with the help of a private agency. The problems identified are addressed immediately. We have started work to repair regulators, set up new points, tanks installations.”
Dr Sanjiv Wavare, PMC assistant medical officer, said, “The seven hospitals are COEP jumbo Covid hospital, Baner Covid hospital, Dalvi hospital, Naidu hospital, Laigude hospital, Bopodi and ESIC hospital. There are no major problems as all these hospitals have installed new oxygen tanks recently.”
Private hospitals responsible if they fail compliance
Corporation has given instruction to private hospitals treating Covid to carry out audit of their medical infrastructure.
Khemnar said, “We have issued an order to private hospitals to conduct a medical oxygen system audit. After corporation hospitals, PMC health department will cover private hospitals and the latter will be responsible for patients’ safety.”
The city’s oxygen demand, according to PMC authorities, has gone up to 300 metric tonnes per day. PMC-run hospitals require 42 metric tonnes of oxygen per day and rest is to for private hospitals.
Pune city has around 190 small and big hospitals treating Covid patients with allocated bed capacity of 10,991. The entire district has 475 Covid hospitals with 27,542 allocated beds.
