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Dimapur, May 20 (EMN): In what will help the state in the combat against the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, equipment for oxygen plants to be set up in Phek and Tuensang districts arrived on Thursday.
This was informed by National Health Mission (NHM) Nagaland through an update on Twitter.
The oxygen plants with a capacity to produce 150 litre per minute (LPM) will be set up at district hospitals of Phek and Tuensang and they are supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
‘Government of Nagaland appreciate the continued support given by development partner UNDP in the health sector, especially in the fight against Covid-19,” wrote NHM Nagaland.
Meanwhile, the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plant at District Hospital Dimapur, now Covid hospital, which completed installation work last week, is yet to receive certification.
The hospital’s Medical Superintendent, Dr. Khrielasanuo Kaurinta, informed Eastern Mirror that the sample from the facility is expected to reach Delhi on Thursday or Friday and the result would return either this week or next week.
The official informed that it is taking more time as it had to be transported by road with train services being stopped and not possible to ferry pressurised oxygen by flight.
Chief Medical Officer of Mokokchung, Dr. Chubala Aier informed that the installation work of the much-awaited oxygen generation plant at the district hospital is in progress and it would probably take around two days to complete.
She said that the fixing of pipe line from the oxygen generation plant to the wards would start after the installation work is completed, and only after that, the gas sample test would be sent to Delhi for clearance.
The official added that it would take a while for the PSA oxygen generation plant to be fully functional.
It may be mentioned that Nagaland’s first oxygen plant at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK) was inaugurated on May 17 after the certification laboratory declared it “fit to use for medical purpose” with 90-96 percent purity.
The PSA plant at NHAK has the capacity to produce 300 litre per minute (LPM) while the PSA plant in district hospital Mokokchung and Dimapur have the capacity to produce 200 LPM.
It may be mentioned that the state government has announced similar plants for the remaining six district hospitals and it will be funded by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).