Oxygen plant at Solan Regional Hospital awaits staff for operation

Amid the emergence of a Covid case in the state, a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plant installed at Regional Hospital (RH) here is waiting to be made operational even as the staff are buying oxygen cylinders for its in-house use.

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Though the PSA plant was running till a month ago, its operation was closed after the appointment of a plant operator become a controversial issue. It was learnt that since he is the kin of a BJP leader, the present dispensation was under pressure to lay him though hiring a fresh operator and training him would require both time and funds.

Solan Chief Medical Officer Dr Rakesh Kanwar said two plant operators, who had been running the plant since its inception, would be re-appointed soon. He said since there was some issue in hiring one of the two operators, the plant functioning could not resume though it would be made functional soon as the staff appointment issue would be resolved soon.

He said three operators were required if the plant had to be run on a 24-hour basis. “Since the requirement of oxygen was lesser in view of few patients requiring critical care, they could manage with two operators at Solan.”

He further said, “The oxygen cylinders were being re-filled to deal with the requirement in the absence of the operational PSA plant at Solan. A vehicle is sent for re-filling whenever there are less than 25 cylinders in the stock.”

In a bid to step up its preparedness, the Director (Health), as per its June 2 order, asked the officials in all hospitals to make the PSA plants functional within two days, however, in the absence of appointment of the staff, the plant had failed to be made operational in Solan.

The services of 32 operators and workers entrusted the task to run various PSA oxygen plants across the state was extended by the Health Department till March 2026. They were laid off in January though the administration of the Solan hospital continued to seek their services till last month.