Calcutta Medical College & Hospital to install oxygen plant on campus

KOLKATA: With the rise in COVID-19 cases in India and a dearth of oxygen supply in various hospitals, nursing homes in the country, the state's premier medical institute Calcutta Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) has decided to install an oxygen plant on its premise to meet the patients' requirement.

The initiative comes at a time when there is a scarcity of oxygen supply in the country and the Delhi High Court has gone to the extent of ordering that if any official, Central, state or local administration wants to block the supply of oxygen chain to any part of the state, he/she will be hanged.

Senior officials of the state government said a 5,000-litre oxygen plant has been installed and it has been connected to various wards through pipelines. A centralised system has been made which connects oxygen to several wards.

A senior official of the hospital said: "Oxygen in the liquid form is stored at -183 degree Celsius inside the tank to provide 93 percent pure oxygen for treatment. Even concentrated oxygen has been kept in cylinders and it can be transported to end-users."

Sources in the state government added that with more than 100 Covid patients being admitted per day, around 70 cases need oxygen as its saturation has come down drastically and so with an inadequate supply of the gas, this initiative has been taken so that it can meet the requirements of the patients.

The new system will save the hospital from purchasing oxygen at higher prices all round the year.

The oxygen will also be connected to the Intensive Care Unit and Critical Care Unit wards so that patients admitted there can get unhindered supply.