The brand new trauma care centre of the Government Rajaji Hospital here will soon have a well-stocked Liquid Oxygen Plant.
This facility will ensure interrupted supply and availability of oxygen for patients who had to undergo major surgeries and in wards where critical patients had to be put on ventilator support. Its importance would be very much in neonatal wards, trauma care surgery theatres and postoperative care units.
The Rs.29-crore exclusive trauma care centre, which has been put to effective use only recently after several months of dilly-dallying, will have oxygen storage tank that stocks adequate quantity needed for its four operation theatres.
“We have sent a proposal to the Directorate of Medical Education. Our Dean Ediwn Joe is very keen that the trauma care facility must have liquid oxygen plant and he had already forwarded the proposal with specific particulars,” a senior GRH official told The Hindu on Thursday.
Exact place for putting up the plant has been identified. It will be located closer to the main portico of trauma care building and also it will be satellite-linked so that the oxygen stock level can be monitored and fresh supply can be made immediately. “Earlier, we were depending on cylinders. But the main campus got liquid oxygen plant a few years ago and a similar one would be installed in trauma care building which houses the entire orthopaedics wing,” hospital authorities said.
S. Gandhimathinathan, Resident Medical Officer in-charge, GRH Trauma Care Centre, when contacted, said that the Public Works Department officials have given their formal clearance for the plant while the Fire Department personnel will complete their process soon. “GRH requires about 80 to 90 oxygen cylinders per day. Earlier, there were some constraints in having uninterrupted supply. The moment we got liquid oxygen plant, the problem was solved and the same would be replicated for trauma care centre,” he said.
Dr.Gandhimathinathan had stressed that continuous supply and availability of oxygen is very important for surgeries and especially in neonatal wards. Anaesthesia experts - T.Thirunavukkarasu, Head of Department of Anaesthesia, GRH and R.Shanmugham, Professor, have explained the importance of liquid oxygen plant. “When there is transport delay or any other reason, the hospital would find it difficult to go ahead with surgeries. GRH requires 500 cubic metres of oxygen every day for various emergency cases and post operative care. So, we have decided to go for liquid oxygen storage facility,” Dr.Shanmugham has said.
Hospital authorities are now waiting for concurrence from the Directorate of Medical Education and also the license from Chief Controller of Explosives, Nagpur. Supply of liquid oxygen is likely to be made by Inox Air Products, a private company which has manufacturing units at various places.
About the satellite link available for liquid oxygen plant, the hospital doctors said that it is an added feature that would indicate the level and alerts authorities when the stock level is down.
Meanwhile, the GRH will also have stock of oxygen cylinders as a back up so that when the liquid oxygen plant faces technical problems, the cylinders can be used. PWD staff will commence civil work after getting the green signal.
