COVID-19: Karnataka falling short of 900 tons of oxygen every day; needs 1,200 MT

BENGALURU: Hospitals and medical centres across Karnataka are consuming a little over 800 metric tonnes of medical oxygen daily while the requirement is about 1,700 MT. The acute shortfall is to the extent of 850-900 MT daily, requiring immediate supply of at least 1,200 MT of medical oxygen to prevent any catastrophe like the Chamarajanagar hospital tragedy.

As per data shared by IAS officer Munish Moudgil, who is in charge of oxygen management, 700.74 kilo litres (800 metric tonne) of medical oxygen were consumed on May 6 and 723.86 kilo litres (826 metric tonne) on May 9.

The shortfall on May 9 was 874 metric tonnes (1 kilo litre of oxygen is 1.1417 metric tonne) to reach the consumption requirement of 1,700 MT daily, and it continues daily in that range, he pointed out.

The data collected manually from each deputy commissioner and zone, does not fluctuate much on a daily basis. The highest consumption is in Bengaluru Urban at about 296 KL on May 6 and May 9 each. This is followed by Mysuru with usage of about 49 KL on May 9, Dharwad with 45 KL, Belagavi 28.5 KL, Ballari 27 KL, Bagalkot and Vijayapura with 25 KL each.

In some districts such as Ballari, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkamagaluru, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Udupi and Yadgir, the consumption reduced on May 9 from what was used on May 6. Moudgil attributed this decrease to oxygen audit being done by districts and all Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike zone nodal officers for each and every hospital.

"We have put in place an elaborate system with every district and BBMP zone having dedicated oxygen nodal officers and camp officers who camp full time at the 57 refilling stations and manufacturers' units. Information is obtained from each hospital, and once a week, an oxygen audit of each and every hospital in the state is done. So far, two rounds have been completed," Moudgil said.

Oxy plants not filling cylinders brought by people a challenge

Daily monitoring of oxygen consumption of each district, BBMP zones and hospitals is done and buffer oxygen stocks are being created to handle unforeseen shortages.

Oxygen plant s have stopped filling cylinders individually brought by people following government orders. This has become a challenge for COVID-19 patients who need oxygen. "On one hand, there are COVID-19 patients who need a cylinder for the next 8 to 12 hours until they find a bed. On the other hand, hospitals are forcing patients into early discharge due to scarcity of beds and advise continuing medication at home along with oxygen support. These people run for cylinders, which plants are not refilling anymore," said Sabeel Nazir, trustee, Naasih Foundation.

Hospitals entertain patients' families for 1-2 days, giving a letter on the letterhead, which can be shown at the refilling stations for oxygen. However, they do not do it every day, leaving the patients in a lurch. “NGOs like ours running oxygen banks are not given oxygen supply. After the Chamarajanagar incident, they prioritise refills only for patients in hospital,” Nazir added.