Hubballi KIMS installs 20 kilo litre oxygen facility

HUBBALLI: The Karnataka Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) hospital, Hubballi has installed a 20 kilo litre facility to store medical liquid oxygen on its premises, making it one of the very few government hospitals with a total 40kl storage capacity.
The decision to augment oxygen storing capacity was taken following a flood of Covid-19 patients in June, July and August, who needed to be put on breathing support.The existing 20kl facility was falling woefully short of demand.
When Covid cases were at a peak, many hospitals in the twin cities were unable to admit patients due to lack of oxygen, increasing pressure on KIMS. To meet demand, the state-run facility began treating patients suffering severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in its old building to ensure oxygen supply.
Dr Ramlingappa Antartani, director, KIMS said the tank was built on a war footing. He said KIMS will now have enough oxygen and is prepared for a second wave should there be one.
“We have no worries about providing patients with high-flow nasal cannula (high flow oxygen),” Dr Antartani said. “We spent Rs 50 lakh installing the new unit. As far as I know, KIMS is the only government hospital in the state that has a 40kl oxygen storage facility.”