Plant trees to give back oxygen to nature: Hosp to discharged patients

Nagpur: You have consumed 1,44,000 litre oxygen to recover. Now, plant 10 trees to give it back to nature – this is an appeal made to a Covid-19 patient on a discharge summary post recovery after spending a week in the ICU. The appeals strikes the right chord and leaves the desired impact.
“I have resolved to plant and conserve even more than 10 trees this year. Covid-19 made me realize the cost and importance of oxygen that we get free of cost from nature,” said a 41-yr-old woman who was discharged from Get Well Hospital in the city on April 22.
The hospital has started mentioning the amount of oxygen given to a hospitalized Covid-19 patient with an appeal to plant and conserve at least 10 trees after recovery.
Dr Rajesh Swarnakar, who heads the hospital, said that people don’t understand the value of oxygen until it us needed desperately and is in short supply.
“We take nature for granted. This is the most appropriate time to make people realize the importance of planting trees which not only give us oxygen to live but also clear the polluted air,” he said.
According to Dr Swarnakar, he got the idea from a prescription that went viral on social media recently. “A doctor had specifically written on the prescription that the patient should plant one tree after recovery,” he said.
“The idea was so good. I thought let’s mention the amount of oxygen the patient consumed during hospitalization in the discharge summary. The patient has paid for this amount of oxygen. So, it may help people realize the real cost of oxygen,” said Dr Swarnakar.
Nagpur used to be a real green city and we must conserve this identity, he said. “I was brought up on Neeri campus as my father was a scientist. We grew among thick green foliage. While we are criticizing oxygen shortage in hospitals and cribbing about ventilator bills, how many of us realize that we take nature for granted which gives us free oxygen to breathe,” he said.
Oxygen and us
An average adult at rest inhales and exhales 7-8 litres of air per minute
That totals to about 11,000 litres air (388 cubic feet) in a day
A human being uses about 550 litres pure oxygen (19 cubic feet) per day
A person who is exercising obviously uses a lot more oxygen than that
During Covid-19, those who are on oxygen therapy need multiple times more O2
If High Nasal Flow Oxygen or ventilator is used, O2 requirement increases up to 90 litre/min