Imphal, May 08 2010: Routine operations at RIMS Hospital will remain suspended effective from Monday next as the hospital is facing shortage of oxygen required for the operations.

Scarcity of life saving drugs is also started due to the stock are exhausted at the drug stores.

According to a source from Manipur Chemists and Druggist Association, medicines at the stocks are likely to exhausted in the next two or three days.

Citing the same reason of scarcity of oxygen and diesel, Shija Hospital, Langol has also stopped fresh admission of patients at the ICU and general anesthesia wards.

Apart from the shortage of oxygen, the hospital could not be properly run due to water supply problem caused by non-availability of petrol and diesel in the market for procuring the same, superintendent of RIMS Hospital, Dr Y Mohen said talking to Hueiyen Lanpao.

Depletion of oxygen experience at the RIMS Hospital since the prolong imposition of indefinite economic blockade on the national highways by ANSAM demanding review to the government decision to hold elections to the Autonomous District Council (ADC) of hill districts under the Manipur (Hills) District Council (Third Amendment) Act, 2008 .

As the oxygen stock is depleting, routine operation in the hospital will be suspended from Monday, Dr Mohen said adding that the oxygen presently in the stock will be kept reserve for emergency operations.

If the routine operations continued, the stock presently in the hospital will be finished up within a week, he added.

He further said that the stock position of the life saving drugs is also depleting with the total blockade of the highway in the last few days.

The hospital is also facing problem in procuring water supply with the scarcity of vehicle fuel.

Due to non-availability of diesel running of generator of the hospital had stopped.

The six water-tankers supplying water at the hospital had also stopped service from May 6 last.

The cost per water tanker which hospital authority used to buy from private water tankers at time of emergency has also hike triple times, from the normal rate of Rs 450-500 to Rs 3350.Despite the hiked praise, they could not buy as tankers also facing fuel problems.

The hospital authority will request the state department food supply and consumer affairs for giving 2000 litre of petrol and 200 litre of diesel, he added.

Meanwhile, admission of fresh patients at ICU and general anesthesia wards of the Shija Hospital has also stopped owing to the shortage of oxygen required for the patients.

Shortage of diesel fuel which is a must for power generation is also facing at the hospital.

Managing director of the hospital, Dr Palin said the hospital has now only 90 oxygen cylinders of big size and 110 cylinders of small size which would be kept as reserved for 11 patients already admitted and under treatment patients.

The present stock of oxygen may last for around two weeks in treating the 11 patients among whom one of them consume at high rate.

If the oxygen could not be procured within the next few days, the hospital authority will not have any means if the patients could recovered before the oxygen exhausted.

Owing to the problems to be faced in the hospital authority, the hospital has stopped admission of head injury out of fatal accident, stocks thoracic, heart attack, septicemia, poly trauma, GI bleeding.

On the other hand, the stock position of life saving drugs is also depleting day by day due to long stoppage in procuring the items.

The life saving drugs is in the position of exhausting in the next around three days, said members of the Manipur Chemists and Druggists Association.

As per their revelation there is need of controlling the supply of the drugs considering the present stock position which possibility of replenishing could not be expected in the next few days.

Even though there was no problem in dispatching drugs from companies, due to the blockade and other disturbances on the highway, transporter could not reached Imphal, they said.