PUNE: Private hospitals in the district were better equipped on the medical oxygen availability front as compared to the civic hospitals, said the Food and Drug Administration.
The officials of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that the private hospitals had enough medical oxygen at least for three days with them. The civic hospitals were less prepared, the officials stressed.
Shyam Pratapwar, joint commissioner, FDA (Drug), Pune division, told TOI, “In the bigger private hospitals, the preparedness is quite good. We are taking frequent stock of the situation. Ample oxygen is available across the hospitals because the Covid admissions are not much these days. The capacity of the private players across the district is around 300 metric tonnes. Our current demand stands at around 90 metric tonnes per day. We are monitoring the situation, but so far there is nothing much to worry about.”
Pratapwar said FDA had instructed the civic and private hospitals last month to refill the oxygen tanks to avoid any last-minute inconvenience.
Sanjay Patil, the chairman of the Indian Medical Association’s Hospital Board of India, Pune chapter, said, “The third wave is yet to fade away. With the Omicron variant still out there, there is a possibility that it could continue up to February-end. The ICU cases are fluctuating. So, there is no clear pattern if the cases are rising or declining. There is a possibility of ICU cases rising in the coming days. In such cases, oxygen preparedness assumes higher importance.”
He said, “According to the instructions from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the FDA authorities, we are keeping oxygen ready. Oxygen bank could be a good idea for small private hospitals.”
