Oxygen plants to be put on digital map in UP

Lucknow, Jan 12

Oxygen plants installed at government health facilities in Uttar Pradesh during the Covid pandemic, will now be put on a digital map to ensure they remain functional and glitches are attended to swiftly.

Dr K N Tiwari, director (medical care) in the Uttar Pradesh health directorate, told reporters, "The mapping is being done for all the 563 oxygen plants that were installed. A list is being first made to check which plants still have their warranty period running and also the defunct plants."

He said, "We will also hold training for 100 staff soon. They will be responsible for running and maintaining the plants at the district level. Also, they will train other staff for running the oxygen plants."

The oxygen plants are of different capacities and have been made by different manufacturers. That is why the list is being prepared with names of the manufacturers and the type of equipment required for repair.

Once the mapping is done, an outsourced agency will check whether all plants are working or not. Plants that develop a snag will be repaired by staff deployed for the purpose. At present, 42 plants have been found to have minor issues and they will be repaired soon.

Recently, the Uttar Pradesh health department had conducted a mock drill for oxygen plants at 400 locations in 75 districts to check preparedness after reports of an increase in Covid cases in several countries.

Many oxygen plants came from the Central government during the pandemic. Several were provided via corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund. Besides, the state government gave oxygen plans to some hospitals.

Dr Abhishek Shukla, secretary general, Association of International Doctors, said: "During the pandemic, the state government conducted a major exercise and ensured all major Covid and non-Covid health facilities at hospitals and medical institutes had their own oxygen plants. This became a game changer and we are better equipped now."