COVID-19: Telangana to set up 48 oxygen generation plants

Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], May 18 : Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao on Monday directed the Medical and Health Department officials to set up 48 oxygen generation plants in government hospitals to produce 324 metric tonnes of oxygen required for Covid patients in the state.
The Telangana CM, who held a high-level review meeting with the concerned officials at Pragathi Bhavan here on the Covid situation, asked the officials to ensure that there is no shortage of oxygen in future and instructed the officials to set up an additional plant to produce 100 MT of liquid Oxygen in Hyderabad.
The CM instructed that 6 Units of 16 metric tonnes plants, 15 units of 8 metric tonnes plants, 27 units of 4 metric tonnes plants should be set in Hyderabad, Hyderabad district and areas hospitals.
The CM also asked Oxygen producers to hand over 11 tankers each having the capacity of 20 tonnes within 10 days.
He said that in the coming days, Telangana should not face a situation where it is dependent on other states for the supply of Oxygen.
He also appealed to the people seeking Covid treatment to get admitted to government hospitals and take advantage of the availability of beds, oxygen and free treatment, food, medicines and other facilities, instead of spending money in private hospitals.
He added that as on Monday, there are 6926 beds vacant in government hospitals, of this, there are 2253 Oxygen beds, ICU beds are 533, and 4140 general beds.
KCR also instructed the officials concerned to make arrangements for the equipment and the required medicines in ENT Hospital in Koti, Gandhi Hospital in Secunderabad, medical college hospitals in the districts to treat the Black Fungal disease. For this, the CM said, if need be, 25 Microdebrider machines, HD Endoscopic cameras be purchased immediately.
He asked the officials to immediately invite global tenders for the supply of the vaccines. He also directed the officials to have a continuous rapport with the Centre on the vaccination quota and get the vaccines to the state.
The officials informed the CM said that so far the state had received 57, 30, 220 doses of the vaccine only and as of date there is a stock of 1,86,780 doses of Covaxin and Covishield vaccines in the state. Of this 58230 are Covaxin and 1,28, 550 are Covishield vaccines.
"The government is ready to spend any amount of funds for the creation of Medical and health infrastructure facilities and a decision is taken to set up new medical colleges in Sangareddy, Jagtial, Kothagudem, Wanaparthy, Mancherial, and Mahabubabad," said KCR.
He also instructed that along with these medical colleges, Colleges of Nursing should also be set up.
"Those medical colleges where there are no Nursing Colleges, they should be sanctioned and the proposals already submitted for the nursing colleges sanction should be examined immediately," he added.
The Chief Minister also said 12 regional sub-centres should be formed at Siddipet, Wanaparthy, Mehboobabad, Kothagudem, Nagar Kurnool, Suryapet, Bhongir, Jagtial, Mancherial, Bhoopalpally, Vikarabad, and Gadwal.
"To supply medicines on war footing to the several government hospitals from these Centres, vehicles should be arranged either own or on lease. Similarly, to store the medicines, Cold storage facilities should be set up at the sub-centres," the Chief Minister further said.
Chandrashekhar Rao also said that the 200-bed hospitals in Anantagiri in Vikarabad, Singareni, RTC, CISF, Railways, Army and ESI hospitals should be brought in for Covid treatment.