Improving oxygen capacity at ITBP Referral Hospital during the second wave of COVID-19 infections in Greater Noida, India An operative targeted intervention

Abstract

Abstract Due to factors that still remain under debate, both social and virological, the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to flare up in India, particularly in northern and western areas. This has led to an incidence of approximately 350,000 cases per day and a daily death toll of around 4,000 in the weeks between the 1st and 14th May 2021. The current pandemic is testing the adaptability of the oxygen distribution and consumption. Following India’s request for support, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism coordinated the response agreed by EU Member States providing shipments of oxygen and equipment. In this scenario, our Emergency Medical Team (EMT)-2, based in Italy, organized a cargo and a twelve member team of technicians and medical professionals with the main objective of installing a novel source of oxygen. The installation of a PSA oxygen plant provided the ITBP hospital in Greater Noida, India, with a sustainable solution to combat oxygen shortage in less than 48 hours. The supply of oxygen could not be deemed a successful intervention without a proper plan to guarantee the rational use of the source so additional training was carried out. Our EMT were among the first responders in mitigating this public health crisis.