It is heartening and greatly reassuring to see that thousands of oxygen concentrators and generators are being brought in from all over the world. This is, indeed, a life saving step and is rolling out faster than expected. But, there is an urgent need to plan for their upkeep and maintenance.
These devices are from diverse sources and are manufactured by different companies. They are electro-mechanical devices with pumps, compressors, valves, heaters and motors, which require attention and repairs. There would also be seals and gaskets, pipes and joints, all of which are prone to aging, deterioration and/or damage. With continuous working it is inevitable that these oxygen machines will require maintenance, upkeep, spare-parts and service sooner than later.
Hospitals, which have installed large oxygen generators and hooked them to their oxygen pipelines need to be extra alert. A malfunction or sub-optimal functioning may endanger lives even before it is detected, let alone repaired.
What should be done to avoid disruption in oxygen supplies?
1. Find out the brand, manufacturer and model number of your equipment.
2. Check if there are service technicians available for such a device in your city or neighbourhood.
3. Every major hospital should have an engineer. Find out if such an engineer has familiarised himself with the equipment.
4. Find out the list of operational and maintenance spares and order them without delay - airlift them.
5. Insist on a single brand for your establishment. Train in-house personnel in operations and routine upkeep.
Again, remember such devices are only a stopgap arrangement for a hospital. Any hospital, worth its name, should quickly install liquid oxygen storage and necessary distribution system. It is much simpler and can often be serviced by in-house personnel with minimal training.