'Grossly Inadequate': Parliamentary Panel Flagged Concerns Of Oxygen, Hospital Bed Shortage In Nov 2020 To Centre

The report emphasized that the total number of government hospital beds in the country was "grossly inadequate" keeping in view the Covid-19 situation.

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New Delhi: A parliamentary panel in November last year had advocated that the central government augment hospital beds and oxygen production. The suggestions came months before the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic hit India delivering a significant blow to the medical system.

Chaired by Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health had advocated that the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority take appropriate steps to cap the price of oxygen cylinders to ensure their availability and affordability.

"The Committee also recommends the government for encouraging adequate production of oxygen for ensuring its supply as per demand in the hospitals," stated the report submitted in parliament in November last year.

The report emphasized that the total number of government hospital beds in the country was "grossly inadequate" keeping in view the Covid-19 situation.

The panel noted that the efficacy of the containment plan against the Coronavirus pandemic was being further complicated by lack of hospital beds and inadequate ventilators

"As the numbers of cases were on the rise, a frantic search for vacant hospital beds became quite harrowing. Instances of patients being turned away from overburdened hospitals due to lack of vacant beds became the new normal. The scenario of patients holding oxygen cylinders rushing from pillar to post in search of bed in AIIMS Patna is a testimony to the fact that tears apart humanity," it said.

Expressing worry over the poor state of the healthcare system, the panel also recommended that the government increase its public health investment and take necessary steps to decentralise healthcare services/facilities in the country.

The report stated that the Health and Family Welfare secretary had informed the committee on October 16, 2020 that the ministry had requested the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) to fix the price of oxygen as non-invasive oxygen has been found to deliver good results.

"The overall production in the country is roughly in the region of 6,900 metric tons every day. Out of 6,900 metric tons, the highest consumption of medical oxygen was reported in mid-September, in and around 24th or 25th September, when the consumption was almost 3,000 metric tons of oxygen a day," the report informed.

"The committee agrees with the department that the pandemic has led to an unprecedented increase in the demand for non-invasive oxygen cylinders and instances of lack of oxygen cylinders in the hospitals had also been reported," it added.

The report’s suggestions have come to light while several months later India is grappling with the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, reporting over 3,00,000 daily new cases. Hospitals in several states are reeling under a shortage of medical oxygen, beds, and antiviral drugs so much so that hospitals in Delhi had to approach the High Court to have their grievances heard.

(With Agency Inputs)