J&K govt to enhance oxygen capacity to 90,000 litres per minute

INTERNATIONAL DESK: With medical experts predicting an upcoming third Covid wave, the Jammu and Kashmir government has set a target to enhance medical oxygen generation capacity to 90,000 litres per minute (LPM) in its hospitals.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at a recent meeting directed the officials to enhance medical oxygen generation capacity to 90,000 LPM from the current 66,000 LPM.

The LG in his Independence Day speech had said, “With the hard work and selfless determination of our doctors, health workers and other services, we have ensured that no one in Jammu and Kashmir faces the problem of oxygen beds.

“In August last year, the oxygen generation capacity in all our hospitals was only 15,000 LPM, which has been increased to 66,000 LPM within 6 months and shall be enhanced to 90,000 LPM in the coming days.”

As per the officials, Jammu and Kashmir under the PM Care fund will receive 32 additional pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plants.

The capacity of these 32 plants would be 24,850 litres per minute (LPM). Out of these, 13 will be set up in Kashmir and as many in the Jammu division with a capacity of 13,550 LPM and 12,350 LPM respectively.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration had approached the Union Health Ministry, for providing additional PSA plants to the union territory, considering the demand and need to make the oxygen generation facility available in all district hospitals and some major Community Health Centres (CHCs).

According to an official statement from the administration, the Health and Medical Education Department has taken an initiative to augment the existing oxygen generation capacity in 37 major hospitals of the union territory by way of installation and commissioning of additional 84 medical oxygen generation plants.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has also directed all the private healthcare institutions having 50-bed capacities to establish oxygen generation plants within their facility for better patient care.

During the second Covid wave this year, the government faced a number of problems in ensuring medical oxygen supply to Covid-19 patients as a result of which the number of oxygen generation plants was enhanced.

In view of a third Covid19 wave, Sinha instructed the health and information departments to team up and start an extensive COVID 19 awareness campaign at the district level.

The officials from the COVID Task Force, the Deputy Commissioner, and SSPs were present at the meeting. (India Blooms)