Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Aug 10: With a surge in the COVID-19 positive cases in the Valley, several families are investing in the portable oxygen concentrators as they fear the existing infrastructure would be unable to cater to the demands of the people.
Pharmacists and surgical equipment suppliers said a sharp rise in the COVID-19 positive cases as so far the coronavirus cases have crossed to over 25, 000 and over 480 people have died. With the cases rising people fear that it would ultimately lead to a shortage of beds and oxygen ports in the hospitals. With hospitals across the Valley already saturated there has been spike in the household demand for oxygen concentrators.
Rafiq Ahmad, a dealer of oxygen concentrators in Srinagar told Excelsior that there has been a steady rise in the demand due to a spike in the number of cases. “The demand is very high these days. We used to get 10-12 enquires per day, but these days we get around 80-100 queries per day,” he said, adding that the people suffering from other ailments like Asthma are also buying concentrators as people are not opting for hospitalization.
He added that there is a shortage of oxygen beds in the hospitals and people are opting for personal oxygen concentrators as back up. “People who have ailing senior citizens are buying. The doctors and nurses who deal directly with COVID 19 patients are also buying this equipment in advance as they are fully aware of the capacity of our hospitals,” he said.
At SKIMS, for example, there is a total strength of 260 beds for COVID-19 at the hospital, out of which 269 (9 beds more) remain occupied. Further, out of 269 beds that are occupied, more than 200 patients occupying these beds are sick and are in a need of high flow oxygen. And out of 269 beds, 180 beds come with oxygen ports, while the rest are being managed by the oxygen cylinders.
Before the pandemic, the cost of concentrator would range between Rs 35000-50000. With the steady rise in the demand, there has been around a 15-20 percent increase in the costs. “The production has gone down, the transportation charges have increased and the Government has levied a 5 percent cess as well. The demand is high and many dealers have already run out of stocks,” another dealer said, adding that the dealers are only able to cater to the demand as they are not getting the adequate supply.
Another reason for the increase in the demand is that the winter is approaching and people believe that the cases would increase with the drop in temperature. “People believe that the caseload would increase and hospitals would be overburdened. So they are purchasing the equipment in advance,” Juneed Ahmad, a dealer of oxygen concentrators said.
He, however, added that due to a surge in the number of COVID 19 cases and subsequent deaths, people are panicking. “There is a huge demand and I have run out of stocks, but I think people are panicking and buying this equipment unnecessarily. The actual requirement is very less,” he said.
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