Peshawar hospitals forced to increase oxygen storage capacity amid rise in COVID-19 patients

• Hayatabad Medical Complex increases its storage capacity from 10,000 to 23,000 litres of oxygen.
• Lady Reading Hospital is using 14,000 litres of oxygen daily in the third wave compared to 8,000 litres each in the first two waves.
  
• The Khyber Teaching Hospital has taken its oxygen storage capacity to 10,000 litres, compared to 5,000 litres in the first two waves.
  

Three of the biggest government hospitals in Peshawar have witnessed a rise in coronavirus patients during the third coronavirus wave, forcing the medical institutions to ramp up their supply of oxygen.

As of Friday, 700 patients were receiving oxygen at the three major hospitals — Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital, and Hayatabad Medical Complex.

Hayatabad Medical Complex

The Hayatabad Medical Complex — which uses 10,000 litres of oxygen daily for its coronavirus patients — has increased its storage capacity to 23,000 litres.

The medical institution is currently providing oxygen to 160 coronavirus patients.

According to hospital officials, before the coronavirus outbreak, the oxygen storage capacity in the hospital was 5,000 litres — and the facility used 4,000 litres daily.

During the first wave of COVID-19, the capacity was increased to 13,000 litres in September 2020, and the hospital was using 6,000 litres of oxygen daily then.

Now the situation is markedly different, with a stress on oxygen supplies, which also have to be provided to non-covid patients in other intensive care wards.

Lady Reading Hospital

Meanwhile, Lady Reading Hospital has a storage capacity of 16,000 litres of oxygen, of which 14,000 litres are being used daily for coronavirus patients.

The hospital used 8,000 litres of oxygen daily during the first and second waves of the pandemic.

Oxygen is being provided to 438 patients undergoing treatment at the medical facility.

Khyber Teaching Hospital

Over at the Khyber Teaching Hospital, due to the third coronavirus wave, the oxygen storage capacity has been increased to 10,000 litres, of which 5,700 litres are being used daily for coronavirus patients.

In comparison, during the first and second waves of COVID-19, the oxygen storage capacity was at 5,000 litres, while the hospital had used 3,000 litres of oxygen in the first wave and 4,000 litres in the second wave.

Currently, the medical facility has 105 patients on oxygen. For non-covid patients, 460 cylinders of oxygen are reserved.