National panel recommends mandatory oxygen plants for 50-bed hospitals

A government committee under the national panel to enforce minimum standards in hospitals across India has suggested that all private hospitals with 50 or more beds be made mandatory to install at least mini oxygen plants.

The committee, whose suggestions were recently presented to the National Council for Clinical Establishment, has also recommended converting one-third of all hospital beds to oxygen-supported beds. The Central Clinical Establishment Act, 2011 has so far been adopted by 11 states and 6 union territories with the aim of regulating private hospitals across India, while the Act has its own variations in different states.

The suggestions on mandatory oxygen plants follow a mega oxygen crisis in India during the height of the second COVID wave, when the demand for medical oxygen had more than tripled and reached nearly 10,000 metric tonnes per day. Taking lessons from the crisis and anticipating a future wave of the pandemic, the Center is already supporting states to set up PSA oxygen plants in all district hospitals in the country.

In its report, the NCCE sub-committee has stated that it was agreed that primary attention should be given to ensure availability of oxygen as per the requirement for all the services provided by the hospital. The panel said, at least one-third of the total number of beds should be oxygen beds, and oxygen should be available at any point of time, at least 48 hours, preferably 72 hours, of the hospital’s total count requirement, as described in Back-UP .

It said that while mini oxygen plants may be mandatory for new hospitals, for existing hospitals with more than 50 beds, a time period of six months to one year may be given to comply with the condition of installation.

NCCE member Meera Siva said, “After the major crisis that the country faced in April-May this year, it would be good that the issue of strong oxygen supply despite the pandemic situation is taken seriously by the states.” said.

The National Council also supported that online health aggregators should be ruled, underlining that they need to come up with rules to regulate them. It has also said that online lab service aggregators and service providers should have registration numbers.

Ministry writes to states
The Health Ministry has sent a letter to the states, which will have to take necessary steps. It was recommended that online service providers should be linked with registered clinical establishments

Roadmap for new vaccine soon
The National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization will soon meet to prepare a roadmap for introducing Zydus Cadila’s COVID Vaccine in the vaccination campaign and to prioritize beneficiaries with a focus on those in the age group of 12-18 years. The world’s first indigenously developed DNA-based needle-free COVID vaccine ZyCoV-D received emergency use authorization on 20 August, making it the first vaccine to be administered in the age group of 12-18 years. Naveen Bharat