VIJAYAWADA: The Andhra Pradesh Medical Services and Infrastructure Development Corporation (APMSIDC) will establish six oxygen plants at government hospitals across the district to overcome the shortage. According to the district health officials, an oxygen generation plant of 3,000 litres per minute capacity came into operation at the new Government General Hospital (GGH) recently.
The APMSIDC is now aiming to bring the oxygen generation plants into operation at other regions by the end of November. With health experts warning of a third wave of the Covid pandemic, the State government is evolving all necessary steps to establish oxygen generation plants.
As part of the initiative, oxygen generation plants were established at Machilipatnam, Old GGH and New GGH in Vijayawada. So far, oxygen procured from various places is stored in the tankers arranged at the hospitals. Oxygen can be produced once the plants come into operation in a full-fledged manner.
In Machilipatnam, an oxygen generation plant of 1,000 LPM capacity will be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 1 crore. At Gudivada and Nuzvid area hospitals and Avanigadda and Tiruvuru community health centres, oxygen generation plants of 500 LPM capacity are being set up at an estimated cost of Rs 50 lakh. Pipelines will be arranged to directly supply the oxygen to the hospital wards.
District Hospitals Coordination Officer Jyothirmayi said the State government has accorded top priority in providing medication for the patients. With health experts warning of third wave of the virus, steps are being taken to improve the infrastructure at government hospitals. Besides that expert doctors and paramedical staff are also being recruited, she said.