As the Covid-19 pandemic spreads to small towns and villages across the country, an alarmed Union Health Ministry on Friday urged States and Union Territories to ensure free movement of medical oxygen cylinders between states to save the severely infected patients.
Oxygen support is one of the key clinical managements in the treatment of Covid-19 patients and according to the Ministry, so far, less than 3.7 per cent of active patients are on oxygen support in the country.
The move followed reports that some states had either limited or refused the supply of oxygen cylinders to the needy States even as the demand for the medical-grade oxygen is shooting up amid the Covid-19 pandemic from across the country.
For instance, according to a report four coronavirus patients died at a hospital in Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district, and several others were left with inadequate levels of oxygen for nearly seven hours on Wednesday, after Maharashtra - from where a percentage of the state’s store of oxygen is purchased - limited that supply.
In a letter to the States/UTs, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan emphasised on the availability of adequate and uninterrupted supply of medical oxygen as an important pre-requisite for managing moderate and severe cases of Covid-19.
“The Health Ministry has reiterated the critical importance of oxygen in hospitals for the management of critical COVID patients. Medical oxygen constitutes an essential public health commodity. Any impediment in the supplies of medical oxygen in the country may critically impact the management of patients suffering from COVID-19 disease in other parts of the country,” said the official.
“For moderate and severe cases, adequate oxygen support, appropriate and timely administration of anti-coagulants and widely available and inexpensive corticosteroids, in accordance with the protocol, can be considered to be the mainstay of COVID-19 therapy,” the Health Ministry said.
As the Covid caseload surges, there are reports of oxygen shortages from various hospitals, particularly small and mid size hospitals in States like Punjab, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
For example, as per the Punjab health department, the projected requirement of oxygen for both government and private hospitals in the state will be around 165 MTs daily by September 30. Punjab is struggling to meet the increased demand from government and private hospitals.
In Karnataka, too demand for oxygen supply has gone up four to five times. “I have directed the officials to make necessary arrangements to ensure an adequate supply of liquid oxygen to all hospitals in the State. Steps will also be taken to establish new liquid oxygen plants to meet the high demand,” said Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar.