Oxygen supply enhanced at KTH

Experts to help streamline oxygen supply in facilities

PESHAWAR:

Having suffered the loss of seven novel coronavirus patients due to the shortage of oxygen and causing immense public outrage across the country, the Khyber Teaching Hospital has decided to not only restock on oxygen but also create a ‘backup’ in case its main tanks run empty.

The interim administration of the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) has decided to place over 100 oxygen cylinders at the facility on standby. Moreover, two oxygen tankers also arrived at the facility on Wednesday to ensure the uninterrupted supply of oxygen for patients.

Hospital sources told The Express Tribune on Wednesday that after the unfortunate incident where at least seven patients had died because they could not be provided supplemental oxygen, the hospital administration had decided to take measures on war footing to prevent a repeat.

The administration has set aside a hundred oxygen cylinders as standby for emergency cases.

Moreover, additional oxygen had been sourced from Rawalpindi. In this regard, two large tankers, each carrying over 3,000 cubic metres of oxygen arrived at the health care centre, boosting its overall storage to 8,700 cubic metres.

Shortages continue

Meanwhile, sources in the hospital said that the facility had faced another crisis late on Tuesday after it fell short of oxygen for three patients.

However, they said that the doctors on duty acted quickly to shift them onto ventilators and alternative means to supplement their oxygen flow.

To tackle the issue, the hospital’s senior engineer was called to duty. When he failed to resolve the problem, a team of experts were called from the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), including Medical director Dr Shahzad Akbar.

“The hospital management has completed arrangements to install a backup system over the next two weeks,” Dr Akbar said, adding that experts from the Rehman Medical Institute (RMI) and Pakistan Oxygen Company have been called in for consultations.

Engineers who had installed the system at KTH have also been called to inspect the system and identify faults even as the interim management of the hospital overhauls the entire system on an emergency basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2020.