EARLY TIMES REPORT
JAMMU, Apr 25: Oxygen consumption in Jammu has witnessed an unprecedented jump from 20 to 350 cylinders per day, setting the alarm bells ringing about whether the region is ready to cope with the pandemic’s second dreadful wave.
Reports inform that the oxygen consumption has increased manifold with the increase in number of patients at GMC Jammu, the premier corona hospital in Jammu city. Oxygen is being supplied to the patients from Liquid oxygen plant and hospital's own oxygen plant.
What has meanwhile set the alarm bells ringing is that till April 1, only 20 to 30 cylinders were being used daily from the plant, which has now increased to 300 to 350. In the liquid oxygen plant, the tank has to be filled after every two days.
There are fears that the increase in oxygen demand in Jammu could result in possible health crises in the division. As per the reports, about three thousand big cylinders are available in stock, of which up to 350 cylinders are being used every day and they are being regularly filled through various units. It has a capacity of 7000 liters per cylinder.
Similarly, the liquid oxygen plant has a capacity of 20 thousand liters and that GMC is providing oxygen supply to 400 beds, including 8 units including CCU, HDU, isolation, ward 3.
Financial Commissioner of Health and Medical Education Department Atal Dullu claimed that ten thousand big and three thousand small oxygen cylinders are available and that oxygen generation plants will also be operational in 23 hospitals by next week.
Meanwhile, what has been sending many into tizzy is the fact that there is very limited health infrastructure available in Jammu and Kashmir and if the situation takes an ugly turn, it could lead to a possible catastrophe in many ways than one.
For example the sanctioned strength of the staff at GMC Jammu was 5222 and that the posts lying vacant since years are 1847 in number.
The faculty posts sanctioned are 391 and out of that number mere 228 have been filled and 163 are lying vacant. The staff strength sanctioned under the category of ‘Other Gazetted’ is 459. This number pertinently was approved by the government to get filled. However, till date, there are 19 posts which haven’t been filled.
The approved Para-medical staff strength sanctioned is 933. Out of 933, there are 423 such posts that haven’t been filled. In the Ministerial staff category, the sanctioned strength is 284. There are 136 posts of such nature lying vacant with no action being taken to fill these posts that otherwise would have ensured betterment in the services being provided to common people by the government.
Furthermore, there are 535 posts of nursing staff that haven’t been filled. These posts are vacant in GMC. The sanctioned strength of the nursing staff at the health institute is 1475.
However, there were merely 940 posts filled while leaving 535 posts of such nature vacant. The reason behind such an action continues to remain a mystery. |
