Need strategic reserves of oxygen, like petroleum: SC task force

The Supreme Courtappointed National Task Force NTF has proposed creation of strategic reserves of oxygen for the country to cover 23 weeks consumption amidst the ongoing Covid19 pandemic A 12member panel constituted by the top court said We should have strategic reserves of oxygen for the country to cover 23 weeks consumption similar to the arrangement made for petroleum products Similarly all hospitals should have a buffer capacity for emergenciesIt suggested that there should be a strategy to manufacture oxygen locally or in the neighbourhood for the big cities to fulfil at least 50 per cent of their liquid medical oxygen LMO demand as road transportation is vulnerable This may be taken up in respect of Delhi and Mumbai on priority due to their population density All 18 metro cities to be made oxygen independent with at least 100 MT storage in the city itself added the panel in its reportThe NTF proposed a formula for determining the oxygen needs for the country which considers all levels of care amid the pandemic The panel said 15 MT of LMO is required for a 100bed hospital with 25 per cent ICU beds per day is a formulation which may be examined Such a formula will be part of a dynamic evolving process and open to modification and consultation with states as the situation evolves said the panelAbout 20 per cent buffer capacity of the states requirement should be created for allocation over and above baseline demand for allocation to states with rising cases it recommended The active case load of the stateUT and the doubling rate should be the main factors in allotting oxygen addressing both the current situation and the future demand it addedThe panel said Efforts are to be made to further scale up LMO production in preparation of the next pandemic There is an urgent need to increase production of LMO from about 5 per cent to 8 per cent of gaseous industrial oxygen Government should support and subsidise concerned industries It emphasised on judicious use of oxygen and the audit of hospitals should be conducted including their pipeline systems which may reduce the usage by 10 to 20 per centOn the methodology for allocation of oxygen to states and UTs the panel recommended developing guidance protocols for homebased or facilitybased isolation and selfmonitoring programmes and nonhospital Covid19 care facilities The panel stressed that there should be a buffer of at least six cylinders in the rural settings to accommodate for delays and surge As a way forward it said At Central level such as procurement of cylinders enhancing production and supply of oxygen mapping oxygen for states as per formula that includes case load infrastructure of beds projected requirements etc and the need for a supply plan which is also dynamic and flexibleThe report said the members of NTF recognise the hard work made by the government in the management of the pandemic of the present magnitude The members of the NTF appreciate that many of their recommendations were already under implementation and work on others has also already commenced it said The panel suggested that a formula needs to be developed for the calculation of oxygen requirement for the primary secondary and tertiarylevel hospitals based on the number of oxygen beds and ICU beds The top court had set up the NTF on May 6 to formulate methodology for allocation of oxygen for saving lives of Covid19 patientsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever