Nagpur: In the review meeting chaired by guardian minister Nitin Raut at the divisional commissioner’s office on Saturday, the district administration presented the concept of oxygen-generating mini plants at hospitals through ‘pressure swing adsorption’ (PSA).
Raut and collector Ravindra Thakare also urged hospitals to conduct a ‘fire audit’ of their premises at the earliest through the NMC’s fire department or any other authorized agency. Hospitals, which have more beds and Covid facilities, must also get their electrical equipment checked and upgraded, they added.
The spike in Covid cases resulted in an acute shortage of oxygen which had to be tackled on a war-footing with a stock of 90-95 metric tonnes. Apart from stopping of the industrial use of the gas, Thakare also had to arrange additional liquid oxygen from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh.
In the review meeting, an oxygen-producing technique through PSA was presented to the district officials, members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Nagpur chapter and Dr Anup Marar, convener of Vidarbha Hospitals’ Association (VHA).
The WHO-recommended air-separation technology was lauded as a one-time investment to become self-reliant in oxygen generation at the hospitals.
Marar said oxygen through PSA was an innovative plan with an one-time investment of up to Rs five crore for 100-bedded hospitals but later there would be no additional refilling costs. “PSA is a futuristic process which can be adopted to stop becoming dependent upon external oxygen sources and suppliers,” he said.
In the meeting, Raut also urged private hospitals to maintain transparency in billing apart from seeking help from auditors and the police in case of will-full default and defiance to settle dues. The minister also insisted that hospitals must ensure that billing is done as per the protocol and guidelines issued by the NMC.