Shortage of cylinders cuts oxygen supply at DMCH

The short supply of oxygen at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) is mainly due to shortage of the hospital's oxygen cylinders. The supplier, BOC Bangladesh Limited, did not stop oxygen supply to DMCH.
DMCH authorities told The Daily Star that they have only 350 oxygen cylinders against the actual demand for over 750 and of those 350 a good number of cylinders are now unusable.
When contacted, Managing Director (MD) of BOC Bangladesh Ltd Wali Bhuiyan told The Daily Star that they had installed a large tank at DMCH compound to supply oxygen to some wards through pipelines and they also supply oxygen in cylinders to the hospital.
The BOC Bangladesh Ltd in the city's Tejgaon, the lone oxygen supplier to different hospitals in the country, had never stopped supply of oxygen to any hospitals for outstanding dues, the MD claimed.
Empty oxygen cylinders are returned to the BOC and it generally takes a day for refilling those, which are then sent back to the hospital, he added.
When asked about the short supply of oxygen to DMCH he said, “As it is not possible to carry oxygen without cylinders, the DMCH cannot have the required quantity due to lack of cylinders.
“We have never cut or stopped supply of oxygen to DMCH though the hospital has not been paying our outstanding dues for long,” he said adding that they continue the supply only on humanitarian ground.