Kauvery Hospital has become self-reliant in meeting its oxygen needs with a total installed capacity of more than 700 l per minute of medical grade oxygen.

A release said that while the hospital had one oxygen generation unit in April 2021, which was able to meet 60% of its requirements, another had been recently installed, which made its oxygen supply completely self-sufficient.

Tamil Nadu Medical and Family Welfare Minister Ma. Subramanian, who inspected the installed facility at the hospital on Sunday, said the State was able to overcome oxygen shortage during the second wave of the pandemic with support from other States and countries.

‘Commendable move’

“This move by Kauvery Hospital, making it self-reliant with in-house oxygen generation, is commendable as it is the need of the hour, considering the possibility of a third wave,” he said.

Aravindan Selvaraj, executive director, Kauvery Hospital, said that the COVID-19 crisis made it an important goal for the hospital to streamline operational processes, build preparedness for adverse circumstances and develop self-reliance in ensuring undisturbed oxygen supply.

Iyappan Ponnuswamy, medical director, Kauvery Hospital, said the pandemic showed that oxygen had increasingly become a precious commodity. “We felt the urgent need for an in-house solution to address the oxygen scarcity,” he said. Apart from the generation units, The hospital also had more than 200 oxygen cylinders as well as liquid oxygen cryo-tanks as back-up, he added.