Assessment of Oxygen Supply Safety and Risk Management in MultiSpecialty Hospitals

Abstract

Uninterrupted medical oxygen supply is a critical determinant of patient safety in multi-specialty hospitals, particularly for intensive care, operation theatres, and emergency departments. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed severe vulnerabilities in India's hospital oxygen infrastructure, ranging from inadequate storage capacity to poorly maintained pressure-regulation and alarm systems. This paper assesses the safety practices and risk management framework governing medical oxygen supply systems — liquid medical oxygen (LMO) tanks, pressure swing adsorption (PSA) plants, manifold cylinder banks, and pipeline distribution networks — across a sample of multi-specialty hospitals. Primary data was collected through structured checklists and interviews with biomedical engineers, safety officers, and nursing staff, while secondary data was drawn from NABH accreditation standards, NFPA 99 guidelines, CDSCO circulars, and postpandemic audit reports. The study evaluates compliance across storage, piping, alarm, fire-safety, and training domains, and identifies leakage from manual valves, inadequate staff training, and maintenance lapses as the dominant risk contributors. The paper concludes with a set of technology-driven and procedural recommendations — including IoT-based pressure monitoring, redundant supply architecture, and structured audit cycles — to strengthen oxygen supply resilience and reduce clinical risk