To beat shortage, Goa govt ropes in four O2 manufacturers

PANAJI: To ensure uninterrupted oxygen to Covid patients in hospitals, all manufacturers operating in the state have been roped in, chief minister Pramod Sawant, who visited the Goa Medical College (GMC) to check on the availability of the supply of the gas, said.
“We have activated four oxygen manufacturers, and equally divided them to supply oxygen to hospitals,” he said.
The CM, on Sunday, had visited various oxygen plants across the state and taken stock of the production and distribution of the gas. His visit had come on the heels of a letter written by Goa Association of Resident Doctors to the GMC dean highlighting the problems faced by them in managing patients owing to inadequate oxygen supply .
He told reporters that a huge tank has been installed at the super-specialty, which has an altogether different system to supply oxygen to patients.
Asked why the old system was still being used at other government hospitals, Sawant said that tanks and oxygen supply systems are installed and put in place at the time of construction of the hospital itself. “It should have been changed, but at the time there was not much requirement for, so it remained the same.”
Earlier, GMC’s entire oxygen requirement was 10 trolleys, which has now gone up to 55, the chief minister said. “We will upgrade the oxygen supply system at the GMC,” he said, adding that a new oxygen tank will be installed. The process has been delayed because the state has not got the tank as yet, Sawant said.
Additionally, the state government has taken up the installation of two new oxygen plants under the PM cares fund, and these will soon become functional, he said.