COMMUNITY OXYGEN PROVISIONING FACILITIES MAY BE THE NORM IN FUTURE
COMMUNITY
OXYGEN PROVISIONING
FACILITIES
MAY BE THE NORM IN FUTURE
Traditionally, in India, use of Medical Grade Oxygen through Oxygen Cylinders or Oxygen Tanks installed at Hospitals is the normal practice. In case of household need also in emergency cases, the Oxygen Cylinders used to be the generally workable norm. Slowly for household use, portable Oxygen Concentrators ( a small machine operated by electric or battery, that filters Oxygen from air and supplies for use of an emergency patient ) are getting attention. However, the Oxygen Concentrators have present price tag in the range from Rs. 40,000/- to Rs. 1,20,000/- per machine (depending on capacity of Oxygen production per minute, brand etc.) which is a prohibitive price for a household to buy and keep it for self use in case of need. Some Brands of Oxygen Concentrators such as “Philips” or “Ivox” are right now popular pick ups in India. In some locations of the country, there have companies come up, who also supply Oxygen Concentrator machines for household use on rental basis, however it is on a low scale right now. However, the Oxygen Concentrators have limitations also, in terms of Purity of Oxygen it can provide to a Patient is in between 87% - 96%. Even normal capacity of Concentrators are in the range of 3 LPM ( Litre per Minute) to 10 LPM. Therefore an Oxygen concentrator can support a Patient who can be maintained with this level of Purity and LPM Oxygen supply. However, the Patients who need ICU facility and to be on a Ventilator and a higher LPM of Medical Grade Oxygen, the present purity and LPM provided by the Oxygen Concentrators of the market may not be useful.
With so much efforts by Government, Private and Public Sector in India, it could be possible that, after some time, commercially, there will be enhanced capacity to supply and meet the required quantity of Medical Grade Oxygen of the Hospitals around the country.
What I am trying to discuss in this article is; the present terrible experience of people in India for want of Oxygen is going to open the mind of the whole world globally, how to avert such a dangerous crisis in future, that emanates from the scarcity of Oxygen availability, anywhere in the world. I am not looking at Commercial Facilities that in any case will happen whether in India or else where in the world for safety of life of the population in Hospitals and also through industrial production and supply of medical grade oxygen.
However, the people would be concerned, how to make appropriate Oxygen Provisioning facility at there own command and disposal either at household or at community level at their easy reach and whenever they want. People would be hesitant to take chances, with this kind of risk looming over their heads.
For household level, it can be expected that the possibility of the following can make independent Oxygen availability for the households who would desire and can afford to have:
a) Low
cost Oxygen Concentrator Machines coming into market
b) New
Generation Oxygen Concentration Machines that can supply High Purity Medical
Grade Oxygen coming with new technology.
For
community level, it can be postulated and expected that in future:
a) There may be installations of Common Oxygen Plants to produce Medical Grade Oxygen for the residents in residential complexes; like today we have in India, in a somewhat modern Housing Complexes (otherwise called as Housing Societies), there are Common Club Houses, Sports and Recreation Facilities, Swimming Pools, Physical Exercise Facilities and Gymnasiums provided which are used by all the residents of the Housing Complex as facilities for community use. Similarly, with the present horrible experience, while building the new housing complexes, the Builders may also provide it with an Oxygen Production Plant to provide Medical Grade Oxygen to the Residents as community facility where each resident is connected to the Oxygen plant with an outlet of Oxygen at his/her residence.
Not only in India, with this horrible experience in sight and publicity, it can be expected
that Community Oxygen Provisioning facilities will be the Global Norm in future, to
save lives at the times of need. It will be consistent with the preference of the people to have Oxygen availability unhindered even at their households.
About the Author : Dr.
Nimain Charan Biswal is a B.Sc.(Agri. Science and Technology), M.B.A. and
Ph.D.(Management Area ) by qualifications and he has 35+ years of work
experience in both industrial and development sectors in diversified
fields of social importance. He has been educated at Orissa University of
Agriculture and Technology (OUAT)-Bhubaneswar, Institute of Rural Management
Anand (IRMA) and Gujarat University (with Resource Support of IIM-Ahmedabad).
Dr.Biswal is further educated at IIM-Calcutta, XLRI-Jamshedpur, Apple Computer
Industries and Spar Inc., USA. He has worked for reputed National and
International Organisations in Senior/Top Management Capacities. He is a
management expert covering extensive areas from management in agriculture,
industrial management, development management to management of public systems.
He is a prominent professional of India and known Internationally as well. He
lives at Mumbai in India.
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