Life Saving Oxygen Generator Funded by £151k Foundation Donation
In response to the devastation caused by India’s Covid-19 pandemic second wave, The Randal Charitable Foundation has made a significant donation to the British Asian Trust’s Oxygen for India Appeal.
The grant funding will directly provide an oxygen generator (PSA plant) at the 550 bed St Martha’s Hospital in Bangalore to deliver sustainable and life-saving oxygen to patients suffering from Covid-19.
Over the last couple of months, India has been at the epicentre of the global pandemic. During the last few weeks the numbers of new daily cases have been consistently over the 400,000 mark, and India recently recorded the highest single day death toll globally due to Covid-19.
Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, Founder and Chair of Trustees of the Randal Charitable Foundation, said: “The images of Covid patients in India struggling to breathe and desperate to receive oxygen, but unable to gain access to this most simple of life’s requirements, is heartbreaking, and has spurred the world into action to support.
“We wanted to do something urgently to help, and focused on funding an initiative that would directly save thousands of lives during this crisis, as well as manufacture sustainable medical grade oxygen on-site for the local community in the long term.
“We’re delighted to once again be working with the British Asian Trust, which has been working tirelessly with expert partners on the ground to save hundreds of thousands of lives throughout the pandemic.”
This collaboration between the Randal Charitable Foundation and the British Asian Trust comes off the back of the Foundation’s significant donation to the British Asian Trust’s 2020 Covid-19 Emergency Appeal, which enabled emergency life-saving relief for over 137,000 vulnerable people across 15 states in India during the first wave of the pandemic.
While the rate of new infections in India has eased in the past week, there are still concerns about the extent of the virus’ spread, with the number of infections likely to be much higher than those recorded. The scale of the situation has put a tremendous strain on India’s already insufficient public health system, with a significant shortage of hospital beds and medical supplies, and Covid affected patients struggling to find places in medical facilities.
One of the factors contributing significantly to the death toll has been the lack of oxygen. Oxygen therapy is crucial for severe Covid patients with hypoxemia — when oxygen levels in the blood are too low. The lack of medical oxygen has contributed to many casualties, with numerous hospitals in India facing oxygen shortages.
A solution to this is to provide high quality Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) plants, which can last for at least 10 years and allow a hospital to be self-sufficient in their oxygen supply as they are not reliant on oxygen tankers or cylinders.
This is not just a solution for the current Covid-19 emergency but also for the long term, as the vital medical grade oxygen manufactured on-site will also be used to treat other dangerous respiratory diseases, such as Pneumonia and Tuberculosis.
Hitan Mehta, Executive Director of the British Asian Trust, said: “We are incredibly grateful once again to the Randal Charitable Foundation for their huge generosity. The situation in India has been devastating but due to such fantastic support, we are making a tangible difference; working with our partners on the ground to deliver oxygen to the areas worst hit by Covid-19. None of this would be possible without the commitment of dedicated supporters like the Randal Foundation. This level of commitment further underlines the power of partnership to make immediate and lasting change.”
In late April, HRH The Prince of Wales launched the British Asian Trust’s emergency appeal ‘Oxygen For India’ to raise vital funds for India’s ongoing Covid-19 crisis. To date, the appeal has raised over £4 million that will provide more than 4,800 life-saving oxygen concentrators, medical supplies and tele linkages to rural areas, as well as two life-saving hospital-based PSA plants (oxygen generators) – one of which is being funded by The Randal Charitable Foundation.
Over the coming weeks, the British Asian Trust will deepen its focus on medical care to treat those in rural and hard to reach communities who have little or no access to medical facilities. They will also start work on longer term strategies that will enable a more sustainable route out of the crisis including supporting a vaccine programme to ensure the poorest people have equal access to life-saving vaccines, and mental health support for children and adults to cope with the unprecedented levels of grief and anxiety.
For more information please visit www.thebritishasiantrust.org