India Covid crisis: French oxygen generators set up at hospital serves thousands of patients

New Delhi - The hospital needs 1.3 million litres of oxygen daily.

By Web Report

Published: Tue 4 May 2021, 12:41 PM

In normal circumstances it would have taken months, but with the Covid crisis raging across India, a generator that can fill 48 cylinders (of 40 to 60 litres of oxygen) was despatched from France to India and installed at a hospital in Delhi, all within 48 hours.

The French Embassy in Delhi emailed Narayana healthcare, the private hospital chain, that its government wanted to donate an oxygen generator for its Bangalore facility. The hospital responded by saying that it could be of use in Delhi. The next day, the French government flew the consignment, which landed at Delhi airport early on Sunday morning.

Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, chairman, Narayana healthcare, ensured that the Delhi hospital was ready to install it immediately. Within 18 hours of landing in Delhi, and 12 hours of reaching the hospital, the concentrator became operational, ensuring steady supply of oxygen to thousands of patients. “The oxygen generator was installed by 8.30 pm and an hour later we had the first trial,” said Commander Navneet Bali, regional director Narayana healthcare. “In another three hours the plant was fully operational.”

Advertising

According to Shetty, the hospital needs 1.3 million litres of oxygen daily, but the two concentrators were unable to meet the full demand. But with the new French concentrators, it would be able to meet the demand and help save and sustain more lives daily, he added.