AP set up 144 PSA oxygen plants in government hospitals

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday virtually inaugurated 144 pressure swing absorption (PSA) oxygen plants with a capacity of 93,600 LPM that have been set up at various government hospitals across the state.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Jagan said the government has been taking all measures to control the spread of the virus. A total of 144 oxygen plants have been set up in government hospitals at a cost of Rs. 426 crore. Besides this, the government is also providing a 30% subsidy to private hospitals with over 100-bed capacity to set up an oxygen plant. He said steps were taken to achieve self-sufficiency of oxygen as the entire country faced a severe shortage of oxygen during the second wave.

Further, the Chief Minister said the government had purchased 25 oxygen cryogenic ISO containers to transport liquid medical oxygen (LMO) along with 74 LMO tanks. Oxygen pipelines were set up to 24,419 beds in various government hospitals at a cost of Rs. 90 crore and pediatric care units with 20 beds have been set up at community health centers. Also, 183 community health centers will be provided with medical infrastructure with a budget of Rs. 64 crore, Mr. Jagan added.

Mr. Jagan further said that 20 state-of-the-art virus research and diagnostic laboratories (VRDL) have been set up in the state, increasing the testing capacity to one lakh tests per day. With the possible threat from Omicron, a genome sequencing lab has been set up in Vijayawada, which is the second in the country after Kerala.

In regard to vaccination, the CM said 4,21,13,722 (100%) people above 18 years have received the first dose of the vaccine while 3,14,01,740 people have completed both doses of the vaccine. In the age group 15-18 years, 20.02 lakh were administered with a single dose of the vaccine out of a total of 24.4 lakh. "Right from setting up YSR health clinics at the village level to introducing the family doctor concept, the government is focusing on the development of the medical and health sector through Nadu-Nedu and construction of 16 new medical and nursing colleges," said the CM.

A total of 39,000 medical staff, including doctors, paramedics, and nurses, will be recruited in hospitals by February end, he added.