With J&K hit by worst power outages, patients dependent on oxygen concentrators at their home are facing severe distress.
Hundreds of home-bound patients especially patients suffering from chronic diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Asthma and heart related issues who survive on oxygen concentrators are suffering as in absence of electricity they are unable to run these concentrators which in turn deteriorates the condition of patient.
A close relative of an elderly woman from Anantnag who is suffering from asthma and is being administered oxygen at home said that in order to keep the concentrator running, they have hired an electric generator. For this, they have to spend at least Rs 1000 to keep it running.
He told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that there are patients who cannot hire generators as they don’t have money for medicine and such patients are going through tough times.
Another relative of another COPD patient from Srinagar said that they have to keep generators to keep concentrators running but there are patients who belong to financially weak families and can’t afford to keep generators.
He said that there are many such patients whose conditions have worsened as they were unable to run oxygen concentrators after power outages and have once again admitted their patients so as to get oxygen there.
Meanwhile, social organizations who are providing oxygen cylinders to patients on humanitarian grounds have also said that since long power cuts have started, they have started getting more and more calls from people who need cylinders for their patients—(KNO)