The Divisional Railway Hospital at Ponmalai here has installed a Pressure Swing Adsorption oxygen generation plant on its premises to ensure uninterrupted supply of oxygen to patients. 

Costing about ₹30 lakh, the plant was commissioned recently with funds provided by the Central government. 

The new plant will be an additional source for supply of oxygen at the over 90-year-old hospital that caters to serving and retired railway employees, their wards and dependents. The capacity of the new plant is 200 litres per minute.

Hospital authorities say the plant will draw oxygen from the atmosphere and purify it and the gas will be sent through the existing oxygen pipelines to patients. The hospital already has oxygen cylinders and a one- kilo litre liquid oxygen plant on its premises.

The PSA oxygen generator plant will be the third source for supply of oxygen and will come in handy in case there is any shortage of supply of cylinders and liquid oxygen. The divisional railway hospital has a total of 197 beds with 19 medical experts from different specialities including general medicine, orthopaedics, anaesthesia, gynaecology and ophthalmology. The hospital engages specialists from outside on a case-to-case basis. 

Equipped with closed circuit surveillance units, the hospital has about 100 patients being treated for various ailments.

The hospital, which is situated in Railway Colony, was designated as a COVID-19 care centre when the pandemic was at its peak and had treated railway employees and their dependents affected by the viral disease. Though no COVID-19 case has been reported at the railway hospital for the past two months, some beds are kept as a standby, the authorities add. 

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Printable version | Apr 20, 2022 9:35:29 am | https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/railway-hospital-equipped-with-psa-oxygen-generation-plant/article65273339.ece