The plants will ensure no shortage of oxygen supply for the next 20 years in the hospital, said Mandaviya
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare and Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya yesterday virtually inaugurated two PSA plants of 1000 LPM capacity each at Sir Takhtasinhji hospital, Bhavnagar, along with copper piping network and associated facilities like fire-fighting system and automatic oxygen source changeover system.
Speaking on the occasion, Mandaviya said, “This facility is dedicated to the people of Bhavnagar. Similar such facilities inaugurated recently would help the country in the times of crisis.”
Reiterating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for the country, the health minister also said that the country is working in the spirit of Lok-Bhagidari through a “whole of society” approach to keep the country safe from COVID.
“It is an evidence of sheer cooperation among different stakeholders from both public and private sector that we ramped up our oxygen capacity that was mere 4000 MT (metric tonne) to more than 12,000 MT in a short span of time’, he stated.
On the continuing challenge of COVID-19, Mandaviya mentioned, “We have now ensured adequate funds in every district for buying critical care medical requirements in emergency. The cabinet has recently approved a Rs 23,000 crore package for COVID-19 emergency response. We have made adequate provisions for paediatric care in all hospitals to provide the most effective healthcare for children. We are also developing a system of buffer stock at state and centre level that can be used in case of any health crisis. Thus, a comprehensive plan and capacity building in the next six months is being taken up through this COVID package.”
The Deendayal Port Trust, through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), has installed the two medical oxygen PSA units at the hospital, run by the government of Gujarat, at the total cost of Rs 2.53 crores. The units have the capacity of 1000 LPM (litres per minute) each, i.e., 60,000 litres/hour at five-to-six bar pressure of each unit totalling to 1,20,000 litres/hour, which can be utilised for treatment of COVID as well as other patients at the hospital.