Audit committees at hospitals to ensure minimal oxygen wastage – ET HealthWorld

The facilities have been asked to share detailed data by August 20.

Each hospital’s audit committee team, comprising a medical superintendent, director, nurse, physician and an anaesthetist, will carry out inspections from next week.

The team members will be responsible for increasing or reducing the flow of oxygen to a patient, depending on his or her condition. “This will ensure continuous monitoring of oxygen. The mechanism will help in optimum utilisation,” said Gurgaon chief medical officer Virender Yadav.

The health department will analyse the data shared by the audit committees and inform the hospitals if they are using oxygen optimally or wasting it.

It will look into reasons for wastage, which could be due to instruments like flow meters, leakage in oxygen cylinders and inappropriate use by doctors.

According to a state government survey, there was around 30% wastage of oxygen across Haryana. Therefore, this time, there is an emphasis on judicious use of oxygen.

Meanwhile, oxygen plants are also being installed in the city.

The health department said 25 hospitals have updated their oxygen plants’ capacity and installed new PSA units while others are in the process of doing so. An assessment and inspection of all dedicated Covid care centres and dedicated Covid hospitals is also being carried out.

At present, the city’s oxygen demand is less than 20 metric tonnes.

During the second wave, the demand had risen to 55 metric tonnes. An acute shortage in some hospitals had even led to deaths of Covid patients.

6 new cases in city

Meanwhile, the city witnessed six fresh cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday taking the caseload to 1,80,954, of which 75 are active cases.

The positivity rate stands as 0.1%.

Seven people also recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,79,958. The recovery rate stands at 99.6%.

A total of 72 patients are in home isolation while three are in hospitals.