Telangana gasps for oxygen

Hyderabad/ Karimnagar: With the number of corona cases registering steep increases every day, the State is not only facing shortage of injections like Remdesivir but also shortage of oxygen. The suppliers rue that they are not getting even half of the requirement of gas necessary to manufacture oxygen to supply to the hospitals.

They fear that if the curve of the second wave does not flatten in the next few days, the shortage of oxygen would be much more serious. Medical and Health Minister Eatala Rajender admitted that the State was witnessing oxygen shortage. "The government was making all-out efforts to overcome the problem.

The demand for oxygen cylinders is increasing every day as the corona patients who need oxygen beds have been growing in the hospitals for the past two weeks," he said.

To meet the demand, the State permitted private suppliers to import oxygen from the other States mainly Tamil Nadu and Odisha. But the supply was not meeting the growing demand.

The minister, who was on a visit to old Karimnagar district on Friday, said that a meeting with oxygen suppliers is being organised shortly to address the shortage issue. Reports said that black marketing of oxygen cylinders was also reported and the department would take necessary action to bring down the prices of oxygen to the private hospitals. Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar instructed the authorities to conduct regular visits to the hospitals and review the demand for oxygen at ground level on a regular basis.

The government warned the suppliers who enhanced oxygen prices and created artificial scarcity in the crucial time. Experts have advised that the private hospitals should categorise their patients into mild, moderate and serious cases and admit only those who are in moderate and serious condition. This would reduce the burden on beds and oxygen as well. Similarly, they also said that Remdesivir injections should be used only in case of moderate and serious patients only. They should also take a judicious decision on use of oxygen for patients.