The alarming scarcity of oxygen cylinders in three major hospitals
- Hueiyen Lanpao Editorial :: August 12 2011 -

JNIMS, RIMS and Shija hospitals have reported a depleting supply of oxygen cylinders.

These three hospitals are the main hospitals where patients in a critical condition are taken to, and therefore it becomes a major cause of worry that all three hospitals are fast running out of oxygen cylinder supplies.

In fact if news reports are anything to go by, the three hospitals have all shut down all normal routine surgeries, saving the oxygen supply only for serious emergencies and unavoidable life saving surgeries. This is no time to point accusing fingers at anyone.

Authorities in these three hospitals, considering the volatile political scenario prevalent in the state at present, should have planned better to avoid such miserable inconveniences.

As of now they should promptly seek the aid of the police department for ferrying out empty oxygen cylinders for refilling, and ferrying in enough oxygen cylinders so as not to scare any patients.

It is also requested that all concerned authority should see that no essential commodity, edibles or medicines becomes a target of bandh enforcers.

These enforcers, though they might not have a deliberate intention to hurt the sick and needy, are nevertheless fully aware of the political mileage they can get by compounding the worries of those who are leading difficult lives.

The short term solution is to see that we have a three month supply of all essential commodities. In fact it is a relief that there is an adequate stock of life saving drugs.

Since strife marks our society perennially we should actually ensure that the state, at any given time, should have a six month supply of all essential commodities, including life saving drugs.

Let us forget to reasoning to ease conditions for people in critical need for help.

What are we to do if we are told flatly that the very purpose of imposing difficulties is to make people suffer like crazy.

And it will be worse to anger those involved because it will fetch no results. All we have to do is to take care of our essential needs.

What will come of this misplaced distrust of each other, and a penchant to pound at other peoples' property?

We really cannot answer that question satisfactorily. We can only humbly surmise that people go through these phases once in a while, like contracting hay fever or chicken pox.

Anyway let us make sure that patients, either from the valley or the hill areas, do not suffer from want of essential commodities, medicines, oxygen cylinders included.