Shopian: Healthcare services at District Hospital Shopian have come under scrutiny after the facility’s central oxygen generation plant remained non-functional for more than two months, forcing the hospital to depend on standalone oxygen cylinders for patients requiring continuous respiratory support.
The prolonged disruption has raised concerns among patients and attendants, particularly families of elderly and critically ill patients with conditions such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), who require uninterrupted oxygen. Hospital authorities, however, said repairs are underway and the plant is expected to be restored within the next two weeks.
With the central oxygen generation and pipeline system out of operation, oxygen cylinders are reportedly being used to meet the requirements of patients across different wards. Attendants said the arrangement has created additional logistical difficulties and raised concerns over possible delays in supplying oxygen during medical emergencies.
Hilal Ahmad Lone, an attendant of an 80-year-old woman undergoing treatment at the hospital, said his mother suffers from severe COPD and depends heavily on continuous oxygen support.
“My mother suffers from severe COPD and depends heavily on uninterrupted oxygen support. Her condition deteriorated suddenly yesterday, and it was deeply distressing to learn that the hospital’s main oxygen plant has remained non-functional for months,” he said.
Hospital staff and attendants have also raised concerns over the repeated movement and replacement of oxygen cylinders between wards. They said the arrangement could create logistical challenges, particularly during busy hours when several patients may require oxygen simultaneously.
The situation has also raised questions over the hospital’s preparedness to handle emergencies involving multiple patients requiring continuous or high-flow oxygen support.
When contacted, Medical Superintendent of District Hospital Shopian Dr Arshid Qadri said the hospital administration was in touch with the concerned Mechanical and Hospitality Division regarding restoration of the oxygen plant.
He said the restoration work could take around two weeks.
Meanwhile, Executive Engineer of the Mechanical and Hospitality Division Ansar Hamid Sheikh said the process for comprehensive repairs and a technical overhaul of the oxygen generation plant had already been initiated.
“The tendering process for the comprehensive repair and technical overhaul of the oxygen plant has already been initiated. We are treating the matter as an urgent priority and expect the plant to be fully operational within the next ten days,” the Executive Engineer said.
Until the central system is restored, the hospital will continue to rely on oxygen cylinders to meet the needs of patients requiring respiratory support. The prolonged outage has meanwhile underscored the importance of maintaining critical medical infrastructure and ensuring backup arrangements are adequate to deal with emergencies.
