Hyderabad: The Chief Minister of Telangana, K. Chandrasekhar Rao, has instructed the Department of Medical and Health to set up 48 oxygen generation plants in government hospitals to produce 324 tons of oxygen needed for Covid patients in the state.
He asked the officials to ensure that there will be no oxygen shortage in future, and also instructed the officials to set up an additional plant to produce 100 tons of liquid oxygen in Hyderabad.
At a review meeting on Covid KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, has ordered that six units of 16 tons of plants, 15 units of eight tons of plants and 27 units of four tons of plants be placed at hospitals in Hyderabad, district and vicinity.
KCR, which also has the Health portfolio, asked the oxygen producers to hand over 11 tankers, each owning 20 tons, within ten days.
He said that in the coming days, Telangana should not experience a situation where it is dependent on other states for oxygen supply.
He also appealed to people seeking Covid treatment to be admitted to state hospitals and take advantage of the availability of beds, oxygen and free treatment, food, medicine and other facilities, instead of spending big money in private hospitals.
Since the treatment is one and the same in private and state hospitals, people should prefer the state hospitals, he said, adding that there were 6,926 beds in the state hospitals empty. Of these, 2,253 were oxygen beds, 533 ICU beds and 4,140 general beds.
KCR also instructed the officials concerned to arrange the equipment and necessary medicines at ENT Hospital in Koti, Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad and medical college hospitals in the districts to treat the black disease that is spreading among treated patients. He said if necessary, 25 Microdebrider machines and HD Endoscopic cameras will be purchased immediately.
He asked officials to immediately invite international tenders for the supply of vaccines. He also wanted them to be in constant contact with the center about the vaccination quota.
Officials told the CM that the state has so far received only 57,30,220 doses of vaccine and that to date there is a stock of 1,86,780 vaccine doses. Of these, 58,230 are Covaxin and 1,28,550 doses are Covishield.
The CM stated that the government is ready to spend any amount for the improvement of medical and health infrastructure facilities. It was decided to set up new medical colleges in Sangareddy, Jagtial, Kothagudem, Wanaparthy, Mancherial and Mahabubabad. He also instructed that along with these medical colleges, nursing colleges should also be established.
The CM said in those medical colleges where there are no nursing colleges, they should be approved. He said the proposals already submitted for the sanction for nursing colleges should be examined immediately.
He said 12 local sub-centers should be established in Siddipet, Wanaparthy, Mehboobabad, Kothagudem, Nagar Kurnool, Suryapet, Bhongir, Jagtial, Mancherial, Bhoopalpally, Vikarabad and Gadwal. .
To supply war-based medicine to the various state hospitals of these centers, vehicles must be arranged in their own possession or on lease. To store the medicine, cold rooms must also be set up at the sub-centers.
The CM ordered that the 200-bed hospitals in Anantagiri in Vikarabad, Singareni, RTC, CISF, railways, army and ESI hospitals be brought in for Covid treatment.
Source: The Siasat Daily