Delhi High Court on Thursday asked all hospitals in the national capital with 100 or more beds to install PSA oxygen plants, saying a lesson needed to be learnt from the bitter experience everyone had due to the acute shortage of medical oxygen for treating Covid-19 patients.

The high court said it was high time that at least big hospitals with 100-beds or more should have their own pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants which should have a capacity of at least two times their normal requirement as this would go a long way in reducing dependence on outside sources.

A bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Jasmeet Singh also asked the Delhi government’s principal secretary (health) to take up PSA oxygen plants with hospitals and file a status report by May 27.

“Considering that the pandemic is once in a century and hopefully we will see the end of it sooner or later, we are of the view that larger hospitals with 100 beds or more should have their own PSA plants which should have a capacity of at least two times their normal requirement,” the bench said.

It also said smaller hospitals and nursing homes with 50 to 100 beds should have PSA plants with a capacity fulfilling their normal requirement.

“The bitter experience that everyone has had in Delhi with huge shortage of medical oxygen has certainly left a lesson to be learnt, particularly by hospitals,” the bench observed.

The court said since the installation of the plants would need some space, it would be appropriate for the municipal corporations and the Delhi Development Authority to relax building by-laws.