VIJAYAWADA: Indian Medical Association's Andhra Pradesh unit is vehemently opposing the State government’s orders making it mandatory for private hospitals with more than 50 beds to have an oxygen plant. IMA said the move is unviable and a burden on small and medium hospitals.
In a press release issued on Saturday, July 25, 2021, IMA-AP president-elect C Srinivasa Raju and others said the government’s threat to cancel registration of the hospitals if they do not set up captive oxygen plants and equipping themselves with 40-100 oxygen cylinders and concentrators is condemnable.
They argued that oxygen requirement is more only during the pandemic and the plants to be set up by spending crores of rupees will have no demand once the pandemic is over. “However, to ensure they are functional they have to be maintained while their use would be minimal.”
Comparatively, large hospitals, even after a pandemic, will need oxygen in large quantities, so setting up oxygen plants is feasible while they would only be like a white elephant for small and medium hospitals.
“Oxygen concentrators are better for a home setup and not hospitals as the equipment cannot provide oxygen at high pressure. When their (the units) requirement is minimal, hospitals procuring them by spending crores of rupees is not feasible. What would a small and medium hospital, which normally requires 4-5 oxygen cylinders, do with 40-50 oxygen cylinders?”
It asked why the government is burdening the private hospitals with responsibilities of government hospitals and wondered if the former is aware that the concentration of so many oxygen cylinders can cause a fire hazard.