Conduct mock drills of all oxygen equipment, ensure no gap in O2 supply: Center to States

New Delhi: The Centre on Wednesday reviewed the commissioning, installation and functional status of medical oxygen and related systems provided by it to the states and union territories.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan urged states/UTs to review and monitor the status of PSA plants, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, oxygen cylinders, Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) plants and Medical Gas Pipeline systems (MGPS) on a daily basis to ensure that the gap between the equipments and systems delivered to the districts and installed at the healthcare facilities is reduced to zero.

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As per a press release issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in many states, the equipment and systems supplied by the Centre have not been sent to the district healthcare facilities and even if delivered, still not been made functional.

State nodal officers were requested to streamline coordination with Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), HLL Infra Tech Services Limited (HITES) and Central Medical Services Society (CMSS) etc, for resolution of electricity-related and site-related issues for ensuring quick operationalization of the entire medical oxygen supply infrastructure supplied to them.

Currently, a total of 3,236 PSA plants have been installed in the country from various sources with a total commissioned oxygen capacity of 3,783 MT. Moreover, 1,14,000 Oxygen Concentrators are being provided to States under PM CARES (1 lakh) and ECRP-II (14,000), said the Union Health Ministry.

The Centre also pointed out to the states that ECRP-II funds have been sanctioned to them for the installation of 958 LMO storage tanks and medical gas pipeline systems in 1,374 hospitals.

The states were urged to schedule and conduct mock drills of all installed and commissioned PSA plants to ensure that they are in fully operational status, so that the oxygen with the required quantity, pressure and purity reaches the intended patients at their bedside. These drills are to be completed by the end of December 2021.

The Centre also requested States to complete the pending oxygen audit reports and submit this through the designated portal by the end of December 2021.

The Union Health Ministry is conducting comprehensive training programmes to build and enhance the capacities of technicians and clinicians for the operation and maintenance of the PSA plants and other medical oxygen-related infrastructure.

States that have yet to complete the scheduled training programmes were urged to expedite them and complete the pending ones by December end, in coordination with the district skill development councils.

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