Health Department refutes news regarding shortage of Oxygen in the Hospitals

Srinagar: Refuting news published in an online news portal regarding shortage of Oxygen in Srinagar’s Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, the Health department has clarified that SMHS is a 900 bedded tertiary care hospital where 232 beds have been dedicated for COVID-19 patients, of which, 180 beds are supported with Oxygen ports and rest are supplemented with bulk cylinders.
The hospital authorities further informed that the hospital has procured 1500 bulk cylinders (B-Type) which provide uninterrupted continuous Oxygen to the COVID-19 patients as per demand of the patients. Some patients need Oxygen @5litres per minute and one bulk oxygen cylinder suffice for 16 hours for such patients and if the demand increases to 10 litre per minute (High Flow) the bulk Oxygen cylinder provides it for 8 hours continuously as these Bulk Oxygen Cylinders are being filled continuously in the Oxygen generation plants which have been outsourced.
Apart from Oxygen cylinders, the hospital has piped Oxygen with manifolds and two (02) Oxygen Generator Plants with the capacity of 1100 LPM each (Total=2200 LPM) which also provide continuous and uninterrupted Oxygen supply to the COVID-19 patients. The hospital has also procured a new plant of 600LPM which will be commissioned within 2 weeks time.
Government is also supplementing one more plant of 4600 LPM with Oxygen manifold @ Rs.15.41 crore in SMHS Hospital.
Moreover, CD Hospital has 930LPM Oxygen generator plant with 200 Bulk cylinders which caters to the oxygen demand of the patients admitted in the Hospital. The Government has also sanctioned one more Oxygen plant of the capacity of 1000 LPM worth Rs.4.50 crore for CD Hospital.
At present, the bed occupancy viz-a-viz Covid-19 patients in both these hospitals is 40 per cent and at no point of time there is any shortage of oxygen neither in the SMHS nor in the CD hospital.