MUMBAI: Several people and
housing societies in Mumbai are renting
oxygen cylinders for use in an health emergency. This is happening simply because of a lack of
ICU beds in the city and residents don’t want to be caught on the wrong foot.
“We have got two oxygen cylinders in our society, we decided to get it after seeing how people are being turned away from hospitals due to lack of beds. We have a doctor in our complex and we have learnt how to operate it,” said Salim Motorwala a resident of
Orchid Towers in
Mumbai Central.
Motorwala’s housing complex is not the only one doing this according to
Mumbadevi MLA Amin Patel. There are several people and housing societies renting oxygen cylinders. “I am myself working to set up a 200
oxygen cylinder bank in the city that would cater to patients who are not able to get beds in the city,” said Patel. There is an acute shortage of ICU beds in private hospitals and the situation is such that many private hospitals tell patients that there is a waiting period.