AN oxygen generating plant valued at some US$150,000 has been sourced, through collaborative efforts, to be installed at the National Infectious Diseases Hospital, Liliendaal, Georgetown.

The plant will generate the requisite oxygen on-site to supply the hospital.

The oxygen plant was sourced and donated to Guyana through collaboration between Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and Sewa International, two international not-for-profit organisations which have been aiding with the fight against COVID-19.

Speaking at a virtual press conference on Monday, HSS Coordinator, Ravi Dev, said that the oxygen generating plant has already been sourced from India; however, there are some issues pertaining to getting a flight to transport it to Guyana.

“You can imagine the expense of flying it, but at this juncture … we need to ensure that our infectious disease hospital is supplied with its independent source of oxygen,” Dev said, noting that the cost to transport the equipment will be equivalent to the cost of the equipment itself.

The costs which will be saved by the government to supply oxygen to the hospital will be significantly reduced and the long-term benefit of having such a piece of equipment at the hospital was invaluable.

“Since the oxygen is produced on-site and supplied into the infrastructure already in the hospital, there is no need for these (oxygen) tanks, and that is one of the biggest savings,” Dev said.

The oxygen generator plant uses Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA), a process by which ambient air passes through an internal filtration system, such as a molecular sieve, which has a large enough total surface area to separate nitrogen from the air, concentrating the remaining oxygen to a known purity.

Its output capacity varies according to calculated oxygen demand but typically ranges from two normal meters cubed per hour to 200 normal meters cubed per hour and the oxygen produced can either be piped directly from the oxygen tank to wards, or further compressed to fill cylinders.

“The plant that we have sourced is 800 litres per minute; we have done a generous calculation per individual of 16 litres per minute, that works out to about 50 patients at any one time that can be supplied with oxygen from this plant,” Khandai Senanan, HSS technical personnel said.

Initially, Dev had reached out to the Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony, to assist with the provision of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to aid the fight against the deadly novel coronavirus

However, cognisant that Sewa International was providing oxygen plants to countries, and anticipating that oxygen would be vital in the fight against the virus, especially if there is a surge, the minister inquired if an oxygen plant could be sourced.

Speaking at the press conference, Dr. Anthony highlighted that the Liliendaal hospital has nearly 200 beds, including 52 beds in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and the oxygen plant is crucial for the operations of the hospital as, currently, the ministry buys oxygen for the facility.

“In terms of how much money we will save, that we will have to do the calculation but certainly it would go a significant way in assisting us at the COVID hospital,” Dr. Anthony said as he explained that normally a patient requires about 15 litres of oxygen per minute.