SAMBALPUR: The second Covid hospital on the premises of VIMSAR, Burla will soon get uninterrupted supply of oxygen as the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) O2 plant is all set to start operation within a week.The plant has a capacity of 600 litre per minute (LPM). Considering the huge requirement of oxygen amid the deadly second Covid wave, five plants - three PSA and two liquid medical oxygen (LMO) - have been proposed for VIMSAR. In the first phase, the 600 LPM capacity PSA system was received by the hospital on June 11 and its installation is underway.
Store medical officer of VIMSAR Dr Ashok Panigrahi said, “The PSA plant with 600 LPM is being installed at Covid hospital-II. The work is in the final stage and likely to be completed by end of this week.”Reportedly, the Covid hospital-II was proposed to have 300 beds. But it is currently operating with 155 beds including 15 ICU ones. If the hospital runs at full capacity, the PSA plant can supply oxygen to all the beds.
Though two more PSA systems with capacity of 600 LPM and 3,000 LPM are yet to arrive, the hospital authorities have started the process to identify sites for their installation. This apart, the work for installation of two LMO plants each having a capacity of 13 kilo litre will also begin soon.
Official sources at VIMSAR said, the LMO plant will run on public-private partnership (PPP) mode and a Kolkata-based firm, Linde India Limited, will manage it. A team from the firm will visit VIMSAR next week to review the site for the plant. It will take around six months to make the plant operational. As per the rate finalised by the State government, the plant will supply oxygen to the hospital at Rs 15.22 per cubic metre of oxygen.
A VIMSAR doctor said, once all the plants are functional, around 14,000 LPM oxygen will be generated at the hospital. There are around 120 ventilators in the hospital. On an average, a patient on ventilator uses 20 litre of oxygen per day. “The plants can supply adequate amount of oxygen to all the ventilators. Besides, other hospitals in nearby districts can also procure oxygen from the LMO plant here,” he added.