Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Apr 30: At a time when the Government is augmenting the existing oxygen facilities in the Valley, an oxygen plant is awaiting completion for the last six years at district hospital Kulgam in South Kashmir.
In absence of the facility, the patients with respiratory ailments and pneumonia are being referred to territory care hospital for want of high flow oxygen supply. The doctors said the referrals put an extra burden on the territory care hospitals, which are already overwhelmed with the COVID-19 patients. “The doctors at these hospitals are already grappling with huge patient flow and referrals are only adding to the burden,” a doctor said.
Pertinently, the Director Health Services Kashmir recently asked the district hospitals to refrain for unnecessary referring patients to the tertiary care hospitals that are facing an immense load of COVID patients. In this order, the concerned Chief Medical Officers and Medical Superintendents were directed to ensure that no unnecessary referrals are made from districts to SKIMS, GMC and SMHS hospitals.
The doctors at the hospital told Excelsior that the plant that could have ensured 48- oxygen-outlet points in the hospital is lying defunct since it was set up in the hospital. Three years ago, doctors said, the plant was put to trail some, but it has made no headways since then. “Worse, the hospital is yet to hire the technical human resources to run the plant even with the outbreak of the second wave of the Coronavirus,” the doctors informed.
The non-functional oxygen plant has also affected the overall functioning of the hospital as the administrations cannot make use of a new building which was inaugurated a decade ago. “The most unfortunate thing is that we are unable to shift the medical wards, surgical wards, casualty, and other wards to the new buildings in absence of the facility,” another doctor said, adding that the new building would serve no purpose unless the oxygen plant is put to use.
Medical Superintendent Dr. Muzafar Ahmad said that the plant is operational but maintained that they have enough stock of oxygen concentrators to deal with the current patient flow. “Presently, 7-COVID patients are admitted in the hospital and there is no oxygen deficiency in the hospital. We have enough stock available,” he said, adding that the facility is likely to be made operational soon.
Asked why the facility was non-functional, he said: “The work is underway and we will complete it in a week. The capacity of the oxygen plant has also been increased to 1000.”
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