Bracing for surge, Delhi to buy O2 devices
nNEW DELHI : Anticipating the need for more oxygen than ventilators to treat coronavirus disease (Covid-19) patients, the Delhi government has set out to procure 2,000 oxygen concentrators.
An oxygen concentrator is a device that removes nitrogen from the ambient air to enrich it with about 93% concentrated oxygen for patients in need of respiratory support, with a mask, whereas a ventilator is a machine that pumps air in and out of the lungs through a tube.
In India, only 0.45% of Covid-19 patients are still on ventilators, while 2.94% are on oxygen support, according to data from the union health ministry. The data also goes to show that 0.4% of Delhi’s patients are on ventilators but does not elaborate how many are on oxygen support.`
A senior official from Delhi’s health department said, “After treating so many Covid-19 patients, we’ve realised that most of them do not need ventilators. Oxygen support is good enough to improve their respiratory rate and oxygen concentration. Therefore, the Delhi government has decided to purchase oxygen concentrators.”
The Delhi government is preparing for a worst-case scenario of 30,000 active cases simultaneously. There are 6,214 active cases in Delhi as of May 22, according to the government’s daily bulletin.
The official quoted above said oxygen concentrators would not only be used within hospitals where there aren’t any gas pipelines but also in hotels or dharamshalas where Covid-19 patients could be treated if the number of cases increases.
“There are gas pipelines in most designated Covid-19 hospitals that deliver oxygen to patients. However, some hospitals make use of oxygen cylinders. Oxygen concentrators can be used in these hospitals instead, eliminating the need for oxygen cylinders. Also, if the number of cases goes up, and people start receiving treatment in hotels and dharamshalas, these machines can be transported there,” the senior official said.
According to the official, the government was looking at purchasing 500 ventilators earlier. There are around 306 ventilators in government hospitals and 800 in private ones in Delhi so far.
An internal Delhi government committee has also started examining standards for procuring personal protective equipment.
According to Delhi government officials, the tender for two lakh PPE kits floated by the government has failed at least twice within a month as none of the 32 manufacturers could match the quality of the components as prescribed by the health ministry.
“The health ministry guidelines have referred to international standards for goggles, masks, coveralls and gloves and several good quality products cannot be purchased if they are not certified according to these standards. Hence, the tenders failed. Now, an internal committee is looking at the products whose quality we can examine and if we find it satisfactory, procure them even if they do not have the requisite certification according to international standards,” another official said.