LSG core teams to manage oxygen at Covid facilities

Thiruvananthapuram: The local self government department has directed local bodies to constitute core teams for oxygen cylinder management and operations in Covid first- and second-line treatment centres being run by local bodies across the state. The core team is being formed anticipating the need for storing and using oxygen cylinders at the treatment centres in case of surge in patient load.
Local bodies have been directed to pool palliative care nurses, para medical staff, health workers and retired health staff and even those registered at employment exchange. They will be trained and kept ready for deployment in first line treatment centres.
“Oxygen has become an indispensable need during the second wave of Covid-19. Usually, it is given in hospitals and there is adequate facility and human resource there. However, steps are now being taken to provide oxygen facilities in CFLTC, CSLTC and domiciliary care centres (DCCs). Usually, this is managed by nurses and doctors and it will be difficult to get a technical team to manage it in first-line centres. Local bodies should train a core team for this purpose,” notes an order issued by LSGD ACS Sarada Muraleedharan.
Safety measures for storage and management of oxygen cylinders in first- and second-line centres will be issued by the government soon. Muraleedharan said that with oxygen being crucial for critical cases, such facilities will be arranged and monitored in first- and second-centres as a transit facility before the patient is transferred to a healthcare facility.
KILA director Joy P Elamon said that this is being proposed more as a futuristic move. “At present, DCCs do not require oxygen. However, if the cases surge, we need to equip our first- and second-line centres with oxygen supply. The core team will work as per the instructions of a trained doctor,” said Elamon.
The doctor will decide upon cases where oxygen supply has to be administered, and factors like quantity, flow rate, time shall be monitored by the doctor. Helpdesk and tele-medicine facilities will be linked to first-line centres for this purpose.
LSGD is also launching a helpline to ease the burden on DISHA with the huge increase in the number of Covid cases. Professionally trained personnel will be put in charge of the helpline to guide the callers and to allay their concerns.