In the wake of acute shortage of medical oxygen in the national capital, the Delhi Government has formed a 24-member oxygen audit committee to ensure continuous monitoring of the oxygen stocks and their consumption.

The committee has been tasked to carry out daily stock of receipts, consumption and balance stock. It will ensure that the use of oxygen for management of Covid-19 patients is rational and per prescribed treatment protocols, official sources said. The committee will have to submit its report to the nodal officer-in-charge of the hospital latest by 5 pm everyday.

The Delhi Government has also asked the committee to identify areas of wasteful consumption and to suggest means for economising use.

“Oxygen is a critical ingredient in the management of certain categories of Covid patients and its consumption has undergone a quantum increase with the admission of large number of serious patients who require oxygen support. This has led to unprecedented demand for oxygen throughout the country leading to supply lines getting stressed. In such a situation, it is necessary that the stocks of oxygen and its consumption, is closely managed and rationalised,” the Delhi government said.

Also read: As oxygen producers are stretched to the limit, industries lend helping hand

The Delhi Government has already knocked the doors of the Centre for support to increase the number of oxygen beds in the city.

Adding beds

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted on Tuesday that the Delhi government had, in the last two weeks, added over 13,000 beds. In the next few days, another 2,700 beds would be added in different city hospitals, Sisodia tweeted. The number of beds in Delhi as of April 3 stood at 6,071 and it increased to 19,101 as on April 20.

The national capital on Tuesday reported new cases of 28,395 in the last 24 hours, the highest ever daily rise since the beginning of the pandemic last year. As many as 277 fatalities were recorded in the last 24 hours, the Delhi State Health bulletin showed.

The Centre had, in recent days, taken several measures to augment the supply of medical oxygen in the country. It has already diverted for medical use, oxygen used for industrial applications (except few industries). India produces about 6,900 tonnes of oxygen a day and nearly a third of this is used for industrial applications.

The Centre has also decided to import 50,000 tonnes of oxygen and the Health Ministry has been tasked to issue tender for this purpose.

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