HYDERABAD: The new rule by the Telangana government mandating private hospitals with more than 100 beds to set up oxygen generation plants, also called Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants, inside hospital premises has left the management in a fix.
The rule states that any hospital with more than 100 beds needs to have a PSA plant of a certain capacity. However, with 15 days left for compliance, private hospital managements have voiced that the whole project was not practical and would lead to an added burden on patients.
“The cost of setting up these plants starts from a minimum of Rs 50 lakh. Apart from establishment costs, there are additional operational costs and maintenance costs which will make it unviable to set up,” said Dr Prasad MV, who runs a 100-bed hospital that treats Covid-19.
Hospital managements note that if at all such plants are set up, they would be left unused. “In non-pandemic time, at any given point we have only 50 per cent of the beds occupied, of whom hardly a few need oxygen support. If we incur such high costs and set up the plants, it will be of no use once the pandemic is over,” added Dr Kishan Rao, President, Telangana Hospitals and Nursing Home Association (THANA).
According to THANA, there would be anywhere close to 150-200 private hospitals in the State with more than 100 beds. From amongst these, only 10-20 per cent have begun to set up PSA plants after the order.
The association is now planning to approach the government to request that such plants be set up in district hospitals instead, which can supply oxygen cylinders to private hospitals at fixed rates.
“During the pandemic, the main crunch was felt in terms of cylinders and trucks that transport cylinders and not necessarily the oxygen itself. We are proposing to negotiate with the government to allow smaller hospitals to set up 4-6 Medical Bulk Cylinders (MBC) instead, which will be sufficient for one day and can be refilled on a daily basis. The State currently has 23 trucks for oxygen supply, which can be increased to cater to all hospitals during the pandemic,” added Dr Suresh Goud, vice president, THANA.
TS SEES 482 NEW CASES; 2 DEATHS
Telangana reported 482 cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday with 88,164 tests having been conducted. With this, the State’s active caseload is at 8,137 as 455 previously infected individuals reported recovery. GHMC limits reported the most caseload, with 82 cases. Two deaths were reported on Wednesday, taking the toll in the State to 3,833