VIJAYAWADA: With the spike in Covid cases, people are increasingly finding it difficult to get beds with ventilators and equipped with oxygen supply in hospitals in major cities like Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati and Visakhapatnam in the State.
The family members of a middle-aged employee, who was admitted to a well-known private hospital in Visakhapatnam for severe Covid infection, were asked to opt for elsewhere as it was short of oxygen supply. His worried family members and friends contacted every hospital to get a bed equipped with a ventilator and oxygen supply. After much effort, they managed to get one. There are several cases like this. It only shows hospitals in Andhra are facing oxygen shortage.
When contacted by TNIE, a senior official in the health department admitted that the situation is critical in cities like Vijayawada, Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati and Anantapur as more patients with serious infection are flocking to these cities for better treatment.
As on date, the State has 2,727 ventilators, but the demand is more than double the number. In fact, the State is facing oxygen shortage, more so in private hospitals, which was even admitted by Health Minister Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas (Nani) after a Group of Ministers’ meeting on Covid Thursday. He said they are making efforts to address the issue, while maintaining that government hospitals have enough supply of oxygen.
On Friday, the State was found to be facing a shortfall of 200 to 210 MT of oxygen. If all oxygen beds in Covid hospitals are filled in the State, the requirement will be 515 MT per day. However, the State has been allocated only 440 MT and at present it is lifting only 300 MT of oxygen. About 100 tonnes of the allocated medical oxygen is sourced from RINL in Vizag.But with the Centre allocating part of RINL production to Maharashtra, the State is forced to look for alternatives. Though it has been allocated 150 MT from Angul and Rourkela in Odisha and some 60 MT from Bellary in Karnataka, transportation of the same has become a problem due to shortage of cryogenic tankers.
Officials have sent an SoS to Railways seeking an Oxygen Express to transport 150 MT from Odisha. The issue was discussed during a high-level review meeting on Covid chaired by Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday. Though the official dashboard of Covid-19 is showing availability of oxygen beds in different hospitals across the State, the ground reality seems to be different. When contacted, a senior medical official admitted that there is shortage of oxygen supply and efforts are being made to address the problem.
When contacted by TNIE, senior officials of the health department and district collectors maintained that the situation is under control and every effort is being made to provide more beds and improve oxygen supply to hospitals. The medical department has its task cut out as it has to segregate the identified Covid infections based on their severity after receiving the details at 104 call centre.
Less severe cases are being sent to home isolation by providing medical kits. An estimated 40,000 people are in home isolation in the State at present. Mild cases are to be referred to Covid Care Centres and serious ones to Covid hospitals. Setting up Covid Care Centres has become a problem. “Last year, we took over colleges and transformed them as Covid Care Centres, but now with the colleges functioning and examinations round the corner, it is not possible. We have to search for alternative buildings,” explained a senior official, on condition of anonymity.