Infectious Diseases Hospital to soon breath on its own

THE INFECTIOUS DISEASES HOSPITAL AT LILIENDAAL will soon breath on its own
after the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) and Sewa Guyana confirmed Monday it will
donate a much-needed oxygen-generating plant.
The gift will help lift a significant financial burden off the Health Ministry’s budget, Health
Minister, Dr Frank Anthony said during a virtual press conference.
“As you know the COVID-19 hospital at Liliendaal…has some 200 beds and we have been
buying oxygen for that facility. Our intensive Care Unit (ICU) …has moved from about eight
beds to now about 52 beds, and therefore providing…the amount of oxygen is a very expensive
exercise. Once that (the oxygen plant) is up and running, it would substantially decrease the
cost…to provide oxygen,” Anthony said.
Mr. Ravi Dev, coordinator of the HSS, said that discussions to source the oxygen plant
commenced a few months ago with the health minister.
“So, when I got in touch with Minister Anthony, he said yes of course we need those items.
They’re vital in terms of their prevention of the virus from entering our system and that’s critical,
that’s not to be scoffed at. He had heard about the same organisations abroad, Sewa international,
flying thousands of generating plants to India and he asked me whether we could source one of
those, because, looking ahead, he felt, and he was proven right…that we would have our surge
sooner rather than later,” Mr. Dev said.
Dev added, “So, I said of course we will try, so I got in touch with the individuals both in the US
and in the UK … and they went ahead and sourced it.”
The HSS coordinator said that the oxygen plant, sourced from India, will be flown into Guyana
as soon as the logistics are sorted out.

“I want to assure Minister Anthony that the plant has already been sourced. It’s just a matter of
getting a flight. It’s in the hands of DHL [Global Logistics- International Shipping], and it will
be flown into Guyana. You can imagine the expense of flying it but at this juncture, we agree
with Minister Anthony that we need to ensure that our Infectious Disease Hospital is supplied
with its independent source of oxygen,” Dev said.
Mr. Khandai Seenanan, engineer attached to HSS, explained how the plant is expected to
function supplying medical oxygen through the Pressure Swing Absorption process.
“The plant is designed to concentrate the oxygen at a scale with the output typically varying from
two normal meter cube to about 200-meter cube per hour. The plant that we have sourced is 800
liters per minute. We have done a generous calculation per bed or per person or individual of 16
liters per minute that works to about 50 patients at any one time that can be supplied with oxygen
from this plant,” Seenanan said.
The oxygen plant will be functioning 24/7 to facilitate patients at the hospital. An Indian
engineer will be here to participate in commissioning the plant and will train locals to man
the machine before s/he leaves.