Karachi faces shortage of oxygen cylinders as COVID-19 cases rising

After all the COVID-19 treatment wards at most of the health facilities have been occupied by patients, the availability of oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators and pulse oximetry devices, or oxygen saturation meters, have either disappeared from the local market or are being sold or rented out at exorbitant rates, The News has learnt.

As patients infected with the novel coronavirus need high-flow oxygen to maintain their blood oxygen, they are admitted to high-dependency units (HDUs) where they are given piped oxygen.

However, since beds are not available in HDUs at most of the public and private hospitals, people are anxiously looking for oxygen cylinders and oxygen concentrators to give concentrated oxygen to patients as well as pulse oximetry devices to ascertain the percentage of oxygen saturation.

“Charges of filled oxygen cylinders are very hard to find these days because people have started stockpiling them, fearing that either they or their loved ones would ultimately require it,” said Dr Fayyaz Alam, general secretary of the Dua Foundation, which has been supplying personal protective equipment and other medical stuff to doctors and patients.

“This panicky attitude is causing serious issues for genuine patients who require oxygen cylinders, as their oxygen saturation is dropping to below 90 per cent and no beds are available at hospitals.”

Dr Alam said that the situation of pulse oximetry devices is the same, adding that they used to cost between Rs1,000 and Rs2,000, but are not available in the market right now, and if they are, Rs7,000 to Rs10,000 are being asked for them due to their ever-increasing demand.

“I think people should stop buying or collecting these important equipment and leave it for serious patients. A medium-sized oxygen cylinder is being rented out for Rs10,000 to Rs12,000, which lasts only 24 hours if used moderately,” he added. He urged the regulators, including the provincial drug administration, to regulate the prices of medicines, masks, oxygen cylinders and pulse oximetry devices.

As for oxygen concentrators, which use oxygen in the air to concentrate it and supply it to patients, market sources said that the device used to cost between Rs80,000 and Rs85,000, but it is now being sold for Rs135,000 to Rs150,000.

Free oxygen cylinders

The Saylani and Alamgir welfare trusts have been providing oxygen gas cylinders, oxygen concentrators and pulse oximetry devices, but they claim that the equipment are either unavailable or are being sold at exorbitant rates.

“Oxygen cylinders are being sold for Rs6,000 to Rs20,000, depending on their size. Their availability is becoming an issue at the moment,” said Amjad Chamdia, a director at the Saylani Welfare Trust.

“Oxygen concentrators are now being sold for up to Rs150,000, while lenders are renting it out for Rs12,000 to Rs15,000 a month. Keeping a patient on oxygen at home has become a costly affair.”

He said the Saylani trust has around 400 oxygen cylinders and 100 oxygen concentrators that they provide to patients after taking a few thousand rupees as deposit, and once they do not need them, they return the devices and get their money back.

Shakil Dehalvi, a director at the Alamgir Welfare Trust said they have around 3,000 oxygen cylinders that they provide to needy and deserving patients after they deposit some money against the equipment, adding that they also provide pulse oximetry devices to patients infected with the coronavirus.

“At the moment, neither the oxygen cylinders nor the pulse oximetry devices are easily available in the market. We have imported 3,000 of the latter, while we’re also arranging cylinders, whose demand has been on the rise with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the city.”

Provision on doorstep

Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah constituted a committee on Thursday to devise a mechanism to provide oxygen cylinders and other related equipment to infected patients in self-isolation at home, saying that the provincial government would provide treatment facilities to patients on their doorstep.

“The number of COVID-19 patients is increasing rapidly, and with the increasing number of cases, the provincial government is also upgrading the health facilities,” said Shah, adding that the numbers of ICUs and HDUs in the province are also being increased and these facilities are also being upgraded.

Chairing a meeting of the coronavirus emergency fund, the CS said that Pakistan is going to witness the peak of the viral disease in the coming days. He said that a large number of coronavirus patients are currently in self-isolation, so it is now very important to provide oxygen to them.

He constituted a committee comprising the health secretary, the Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) vice chancellor, the Indus Hospital CEO and the Chief Minister Secretariat’s additional secretary for devising a mechanism and advertisement under public-private partnership for a programme to deliver oxygen cylinders to COVID-19 patients at home.

The CS said that timely supply of oxygen cylinders at home can save many lives, adding that testing laboratories would be set up in divisional headquarters and medical universities of the province. The meeting was informed that three companies are supplying oxygen cylinders in the province right now.

The finance secretary told the meeting that Rs3.62 billion has been deposited in the emergency fund. He said that Rs1.11 billion has been used and other purchase orders of over Rs1 billion have been placed.

The meeting was also attended by members of the emergency fund committee, CM’s Inspection Team Chairman Ahsan Mangi and JSMU VC Dr Tariq Rafi.