Docs ask govt. to have enough oxygen stocks

By Sirimantha Ratnasekera

The powerful doctors’ union, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA), yesterday urged the government to take immediate action to replenish oxygen stocks if it wanted to avoid a serious calamity similar to that in India, where hundreds of thousands of families and patients are pleading for oxygen outside hospitals and victims are dying unable to breathe without it.

GMOA Assistant Secretary Dr Naveen de Zoysa, in answer to a question, said that the latest variant of COVID virus was spreading fast at an alarming speed and the government authorities should take immediate action to ensure that there would be no catastrophic situation here similar to that in neighbouring India, where the world’s worst coronavirus surge has left hospitals unable to cope with the pandemic situation due to shortages of beds, medicines and oxygen.

“Now, the need of the hour is to make sure that our readiness will help mitigate the calamity and for that purpose the government must take action to ensure that there would be sufficient stocks of oxygen,” Dr De Zoysa told The Island.

The GMOA official said that in addition to ensuring sufficient oxygen stocks, the bed capacity of intensive care units should be increased immediately. “We have appointed a GMOA central committee member to liaise with Medical Supplies Division to ensure that these supplies are in place to face the imminent crisis situation,” the GMOA assistant Secretary said.

He said that if people adhered to the guidelines and authorities responded to their warnings in a timely manner the threat of health calamity by a third wave of the pandemic could be averted to some extent. “This is a threat to all of us. No one will be safe if we do not stick to guidelines and fail to isolate the areas vulnerable, ban all public and private functions, restrict movements and expedite vaccination processes.”

The GMOA Assistant Secretary said that both the government and the people should act responsibly to ensure that the country would be safe.