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Following the shortage of liquid oxygen at a government hospital in Bengaluru, the worst affected in Karnataka for COVID-19, the state government has put in place a protocol for the medical establishment regarding how much oxygen they should use on a case-by-case basis.
The government was put in a tight spot on Monday when 47 seriously ill patients had to be shifted from Kempegowda Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Bengaluru. The Health in-charge Minister for Bengaluru’s COVID-19 situation, Dr K Sudhakar told reporters at the time, that the need for liquid oxygen was ‘not estimated’, during the pandemic situation. The Minister added that ‘it was no one’s fault.’
However, the government has now decided to take action in this regard, and has issued instructions on when and how medical professionals could use oxygen, based on various scenarios. A circular posted by the Karnataka Additional Chief Secretary Javaid Akhtar noted, “There is an unprecedented surge in the demand of Oxygen to treat COVID-19 patients. The Clinical Expert Committee has conducted an analysis of the usage of Oxygen, which reveals that there is a non-judicious and excessive use of Oxygen Therapy without Proper monitoring.”
The government also said, “Excessive usage, besides having deleterious health effects, is resulting in the wastage of precious resource leading to a shortage of the commodity and waste of money.”
The government has now put out a protocol to know when and how to use the precious resource of liquid oxygen. “The Clinical Expert Committee has considered it necessary to issue guidelines for a judicious use of Oxygen as a Therapy to treat COVID-19 patients. The Oxygen Therapy protocol is finalised by the Clinical Expert Committee.”
The protocol has a detailed algorithm that doctors must follow, envisaging scenarios from COVID-19 patients who need reservoir masks, to simple face mask to nasal cannula with various quantities of oxygen. The algorithm also notes how much oxygen the medical establishment must use, based on the severity of the patients’ symptoms or suffering.
The full protocol can be viewed here:
According to the circular issued by the government, “All Health Institutions and Doctors are advised to strictly adhere to the recommended protocol.”