The Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has decided to set up five oxygen plants at its hospitals with a cost of ₹2 crore and also to procure ventilators and other necessary medical equipment with another ₹3.15 crore to ensure complete COVID healthcare services.
Although medical oxygen supply was being ensured now to all COVID wards and quarantine centres, the oxygen plants are being planned keeping in mind the possibility of higher need of oxygen in the event of a surge in cases. The plants would be established at the SCCL headquarters hospital at Kothagudem and the area hospitals at Bhupalapally, Ramakrishnapur and Bellampally.
According to company officials, Chairman and Managing Director N. Sridhar has instructed the contract agencies to complete established the oxygen plants over the next four to five weeks.
The oxygen plants coming up on the hospital premises would produce 12 cubic meters of medical oxygen every hours and it would be supplied to the needy patients through the central supply network.
The process of tenders for the establishment of oxygen plant at Ramagundam area hospitals was in the final stages. The plant would have the capacity to produce 80 to 100 cylinders of oxygen and would be completed in six weeks.
The SCCL management has arranged 1,400 beds, 20 additional medical officers and 250 paramedical staff to deal with the situation. It has also been decided to procure 15 ventilators, 42 oxygen concentrators, 200 oxygen flow meters, 31 multi-para monitors, eight ice lined refrigerator systems, 28 high flow nasal devices and others with ₹3.15 crore.
The management has already vaccinated 25,000 workers to ensure seamless production of supply of coal to power generating stations in the State for uninterrupted power supply.
