CHENNAI: Amid the pandemic, many Good Samaritans have come forward to help the Covid-affected in their own little ways. Random and touching acts of kindness by organisations and individuals have helped many amid these challenging times.
In one such gesture of compassion, The Kindness Foundation, in association with Aranya Foundation, on Friday rolled out a facility, ‘Oxygen on Wheels’, for Covid patients who have to wait outside hospitals for a bed. Two buses, each fitted with 10 oxygen concentrators, were donated to the Government Stanley Medical College and Hospital here. PK Sekarbabu, Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments, Central Chennai MP Dayanidhi Maran and Chennai North MP Kalanidhi Veerasamy flagged off the facility and handed over the buses to P Balaji, dean of Stanley Hospital.
The foundations decided to help after coming across news reports of Covid patients suffering due to a shortage of oxygen, and long queues of patients waiting in ambulances outside hospitals to get oxygen beds. To provide immediate relief to such patients who need oxygen urgently, the Kindness Foundation has equipped two luxury buses with oxygen concentrators. The buses can be used in the hospital to provide oxygen support to patients till they get admitted.
The facility can also be used at screening centres. Mahima Poddar, founder and managing trustee of The Kindness Foundation, said, “On a pilot basis, the facility has been started at Stanley Hospital, and based on the response, we plan to extend it to other hospitals in the city.”
She added that a team of volunteers has been deputed along with the buses to help patients and their attendants. “We have appealed to the hospital authorities to provide a nurse or medical staff to guide our volunteers to better use the buses,” said Mahima. Shilpam Kapur Rathore, chairperson and managing trustee of Aranya Foundation, also participated in the event.