THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the wake of the grave Covid situation, one more oxygen storeroom will be opened in two days at the district oxygen war room at Government Women’s College to meet the needs of ambulances in case of an emergency. As part of it, 50 oxygen cylinders will be readied in the room and they will be refilled on time to ensure an uninterrupted supply of oxygen.
Primarily, the new storeroom is for the ‘108’ ambulances plying in the district for taking the patients who are being admitted to the government hospitals complaining of a dip in oxygen saturation levels. At present, the ambulances have to fill and refill the cylinders even after receiving a call from the patients, which consume much more time. To avoid such a situation, the district administration has informed the district war room to open one more storeroom for ambulances.
The war room has a buffer facility that now accommodates 54 cylinders. Dr Vineeth V N, nodal officer, district war room, told TNIE that the new store would cater to 200-odd ‘108’ ambulances. “This new storeroom would be easier for us to frequently mobilise medical oxygen for the needy. It will also prevent a critical situation, although there is no such crisis regarding oxygen supply in the district. However, we are working round-the-clock to avert any alarming situation,” he said.
The district administration has set up the oxygen war room which has eight volunteers. It receives an average of 40 phone calls daily. Hospitals that need oxygen can enter it in the registration portal of the new war room. Earlier, a Covid war room was opened at the collectorate and a state war room was opened at the Secretariat.
According to officials in war room, the medical college hospital has the highest demand for medical oxygen owing to the rise in the number of patients. “We are closely monitoring the Covid-19 Jagratha portal. There has been a rise in demand for oxygen from government hospitals, especially from the medical college and general hospital” Vineeth added.