Nagaland gets its 1st PSA oxygen generation plant in Kohima

Kohima: Nagaland received its first Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) oxygen generation plant on Monday as state health minister S Pangnyu Phom inaugurated the 300 litres per minute (LPM) capacity plant at Naga Hospital Authority Kohima (NHAK).

The PSA oxygen plant in Kohima is funded by the PM CARES fund. During the launch, the health minister said that the addition of the oxygen plant will help ease the oxygen demands of the hospital as COVID-19 cases are increasing and need for oxygen requirement is also subsequently rising.

The minister said that the PSA plant separates oxygen from the normal compressed air and can produce round-the-clock uninterrupted supply of oxygen. He added that the oxygen from the PSA plant will be supplied directly to the site of use through the medical gas pipeline.

He informed that after the completion of the installation and commissioning of the work at the plant, the gas sample was sent to Gurgaon. The sample purity of medical oxygen received turned 95.37% which conforms to the standards, and was declared as fit for medical use.

Besides the PSA oxygen plant in Kohima, the districts of Dimapur and Mokokchung will each receive a PSA oxygen plant under the PM CARES fund.

The health minister informed that the installation and commissioning of a 200-LPM capacity plant at the district hospital in Dimapur is completed and is awaiting the result of the sample that was sent for testing.

As for the PSA Plant in Mokokchung, the installation and commissioning work of the plant at IMDH will also be of 200-LPM capacity.

Besides these three districts, PSA oxygen generation plants will be set up in the district hospitals of Tuensang and Phek under UNDP, and at the district hospitals of Mon, Zunheboto, Wokha, Peren, Kiphire and Longleng which will be supported by the UNICEF.

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The health minister informed that infrastructure work has been initiated in the eight districts after which the plant will be installed and commissioned.

Proposal to set up PSA Plant at Noklak has been made to the ministry of health and family welfare. Proposal for setting up of additional 1000-LPM PSA plant at NHAK in Kohima and CIHSR in Dimapur has also been made, the minister informed.

He added that with the setting up of PSA plant in all districts, the requirement of the oxygen to tackle COVID-19 “should be comfortable”.

As reported earlier, Tuensang and Phek will each receive 150-LPM capacity PSA plant funded by UNDP and the rest of the districts will receive 100-150 LPM capacity PSA plants, as per health officials.