On Monday, the Maharashtra government issued a clarification stating that there is no intention of the state government to restrict the consumption of oxygen for any patient. This clarification came after an uproar from the medical community as the state health secretary had written to all districts to cautiously use medical oxygen and also hinted at possible pilferage.

Health Secretary Dr Pradeep Vyas said that each patient must receive oxygen in the manner and to the level necessary for full and speedy recovery.

The state government was forced to issue a clarification as the private doctors asked its allegations of unnecessary oxygen usage and said that a doctor who is treating has the right to decide the quantity of oxygen essential for a patient. On Monday, the government asked the hospitals to work on minimising the oxygen wastage till the central guidelines on oxygen are issued. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare had conducted a meeting in New Delhi to formulate protocol on consumption of medical oxygen. The guidelines are soon expected.

Vyas had suggested limiting the usage of oxygen at 7 litres per minute for each COVID-19 patient in the normal ward and 12 litres per minute in the ICU in a letter that was dated 18th September. The letter was objected to heavily by private hospitals mentioning that there could be a tendency on their part to put patients on oxygen for more durations than necessary and for other commercial reasons. It had also asked district authorities to audit patients on oxygen support in all hospitals and maintain a record of them. The state has now withdrawn the limit of 7-12 litres of oxygen per patient per minute following the private doctors had reached out to the government.

Maharashtra produces 1,210 metric ton oxygen on a daily basis and at present requires 600 metric ton for medical oxygen. Since August end, a shortage of oxygen has cropped up in several parts of the state due to restricted transportation and inadequate storage in hospitals. Each day, Maharashtra is adding 20,000-25,000 fresh cases, out of them at least 15 per cent require oxygen support, which is thrice the national average at 5 per cent. In general, there are more than 27,000 COVID-19 patients on oxygen support in the state.

State health officials said that the health secretary’s letter was to raise the concern regarding the oxygen wastage and unnecessary usage of oxygen for mildly ill patients. The Indian Medical Association had criticised the state’s order to limit oxygen supply for patients.

A statement from IMA said that the limit on oxygen use is unprincipled and an unwarranted questioning on clinical insight of doctors.

Source: The Indian Express