Medical specialists repeat warning of possible oxygen shortage

By Rathindra Kuruwita

It is only a matter of time before a shortage of oxygen occurs unless Sri Lanka controls the number of Covid-19 cases, the Association of Medical Specialists (AMS) President Dr. Lakkumar Fernando says.

Dr. Fernando said yesterday that the public should be told the truth about the situation and statements that gave a false sense of security would only make matters worse.

 “Different stakeholders are saying different things to the people. That is a problem. We must tell the people the truth. We insisted that there is no community spread until things became bad. If we keep on insisting that we have enough oxygen capacity, we will not prepare until we are in trouble.”

The two oxygen manufacturers in the country could produce 80 tonnes a day and there were 15 trucks to transport that oxygen, he said. noting that Sri Lanka only had 28 liquid oxygen tanks installed in hospitals.

There are only two 20,000 litre tanks: one each at the Colombo National Hospital and the other at the Peradeniya Teaching Hospital.

 “These tanks can hold 245,000 litres of oxygen that will take a few days to fill. The other option is the cylinders that can hold about 7,500 litres of oxygen but given that you need pressure to get the oxygen out we can only use about 6,500 litres from such a cylinder. From what we hear about 10% of patients’ need for oxygen. Let’s assume we have to give them high flow oxygen. A high flow oxygen machine needs about 14,400 litres a day. Now imagine you have thousands of people who need oxygen. You see the gravity of the situation.”