Disaster averted by taking prompt action to bring oxygen from India
Supply of liquid oxygen to public hospitals has been under strain as a production plant of a key supplier remains out of service for nearly two weeks.
The supplier, Linde Bangladesh Limited, a multinational company, is now bringing in the life-saving oxygen from India using tankers and delivering it to the hospitals on a temporary basis.
It happened at a time when Covid-19 deaths are on the rise in this winter.
Linde Bangladesh provides the government hospitals with 90 percent of their daily demand for 100 tonnes of liquid oxygen, which is essential to ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply.
But the plant, situated in Narayanganj’s Rupganj, around 17km off the capital’s zero point, went of service on December 11 following a technical glitch, said its officials.
Asked, health officials claimed that the situation was under control. They thanked the government for taking prompt actions and ensure that the oxygen is imported from India on an emergency basis.
They said it could have been disastrous had the government not taken the steps immediately.
The officials said uninterrupted oxygen supply was extremely crucial in saving lives of critical coronavirus patients, who grasp for oxygen.
With cylinders, a patient can be given oxygen at the maximum rate of six litres per minute. Whereas, a central oxygen supply, which can provide much more oxygen in an uninterrupted manner, depends on liquid oxygen.
“The repair work is underway at our Rupganj plant. We are in the meantime importing oxygen from India … and supplying it to the hospitals,” Saiqa Majed, general manager of Linde Bangladesh Limited, told The Daily Star, adding that the import began on December 14.
She said they were bringing in around 60-80 tonnes of oxygen every day and would continue to do so until the plant resumed operation.
Besides, around 20 tonnes are being supplied to the hospitals from Linde’s another plant in Chattogram, she said, adding, “We are hopeful that there will be no shortage of medical oxygen.”
Officials of the Directorate General of Health Services said around 100 tonnes of oxygen are needed every day to ensure uninterrupted supply at the government hospitals and 90 percent of the supply comes from Linde Bangladesh. The rest is supplied by Spectra Oxygen Limited, they said.
“After the production stopped, the government acted quickly and ensured a smooth supply. Otherwise, the situation could have turned grave,” said DGHS Director (hospital) Farid Uddin Mia.
Soon after the plant went out of order, the Prime Minister’s Office, the health, home and foreign ministries, the NBR and other ministries and departments concerned were prompt in solving the crisis, he said.
“Now tankers loaded with liquid oxygen directly come to Bangladesh [from India] through Benapole border,” he added.
Wishing not to be named, a DGHS official, however, said there were still some concerns. “The situation can turn bad if the supply gets disrupted somehow,” he said.
The World Health Organisation says 15-20 percent of Covid-19 patients require hospitalisation and oxygen support, with around 15 percent of cases showing severe symptoms and five percent requiring intensive care.
DGHS officials said the number of critical Covid-19 patients seeking oxygen support at hospitals was increasing as winter set in.
On December 19, some 301 people were admitted to ICUs across the country, shows DGHS data. There are a total of 568 dedicated ICU beds for Covid-19 patients.
In the hospitals in Dhaka, 211 of the 286 ICU beds were occupied that day, the data shows.
Currently, 17 hospitals — eight public and nine private — are offering ICU facilities in Dhaka.
Dr Mushtaq Hussain, consultant of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said the rise in the number of critical patients and a lack of intensive care facilities in hospitals in other districts were putting strain on the hospitals with ICUs in Dhaka.
He said patients from other districts rushed to Dhaka for many other reasons.
“It might be the case that a district has one hospital with ICU facilities, but it lacks manpower to run the ICUs or the machines do not function properly,” he added.
