MUMBAI/NASHIK: In light of the widening demand-supply gap for oxygen, the Maharashtra government has decided to implement the practice of appointing an “oxygen nurse”, currently prevalent in the tribal-dominated Nandurbar district, across the entire state. The primary job of an “oxygen nurse” is to monitor its use among patients and ensure minimal wastage.
Government medical college and hospitals (GMCHs) in the state will soon have dedicated oxygen nurses, said state health director Archana Patil.
Patil told TOI instructions have been issued to all GMCHs to set up a dedicated team of such nurses. “These nurses have to monitor the requirement of oxygen every 2-4 hours, round the clock. They will have the discretion to increase or decrease the flow depending on the patient’s need,” said Patil. The department has asked the GMCHs to have one oxygen nurse for about 50 patients.
The ongoing small but effective practice of appointing oxygen nurses was started last year in Nandurbar, which is 450km from Mumbai. It has received much attention and accolades this year due to the significant increase in oxygen requirement among Covid patients.
Public health minister Rajesh Tope said as the state has been stressing on judicious use of oxygen, the concept of an oxygen nurse will ensure its effective use and reduce wastage.
“Appointing an oxygen nurse is a unique and effective way of monitoring the use and reducing wastage of oxygen. When patients visit the washroom, eat a meal or talk on the phone, they remove their masks and the oxygen gets wasted. Also, when a patient’s oxygen saturation improves, its use must be reduced. An oxygen nurse looks into all this,” said Tope.
“The concept of an oxygen nurse was not born during the second wave but has been in practice since last June, albeit on a smaller scale,” said Nandurbar civil surgeon Dr Raghunath Bhoye. Due to the shortage of nurses in the beginning of the pandemic, the idea couldn’t be implemented in its full scale then.
“This year, we have managed to keep one oxygen nurse for 15-20 patients in a ward on O2 support,” said the doctor. “The job is simple. They monitor the oxygen saturation levels of patients every one-two hours. If someone’s saturation is stable above 95%, the nurse can take a call on reducing the O2 supply. On the other hand, if a patient is struggling to maintain good oxygen despite being on support, they can escalate the case,” said Dr Bhoye. “It also helps us avoid giving too much oxygen where it is not needed,” the civil surgeon added.
At Nandurbar Civil Hospital, where 240 patients were on oxygen support on Tuesday, around 15 nurses were posted exclusively to monitor the intake. Dr Bhoye said the concept has already been implemented in two other sub-districts and is likely to be introduced in rural hospitals as well. The district has recorded 31,553 Covid cases and 462 deaths since March last year. It has recently been praised for its foresight in installing two oxygen generation plants that have made it self-sufficient. Work is in motion to install a third.
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