The coronavirus has impacted the world in many ways. As governments around the world scramble to contain the outbreak and healthcare facilities run out of room to treat those who are impacted by it, the only option for the world right now is to stay indoors until the curve is flattened. For patients of respiratory illnesses such as COPD(Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), these are trying times. The virus primarily affects the respiratory systems, making life a little more difficult for those whose respiratory and immune systems are already compromised.
Sufferers of COPD, especially the elderly face another problem—shortage of spares and service for oxygen concentrators—a device that can make the difference between life and death for them. With most offices being closed, spares and service are hard to get, and in most cases—downright impossible. As with any machine, Oxygen Concentrators—which are the first line of treatment for COPD patients require some maintenance over the years as patients need them for over 15-20 hours per day. Being an extremely critical requirement for these patients and having an alternative machine or an oxygen cylinder handy being cumbersome and expensive, service and spares are essential for these life-saving devices.
This problem was faced by Mr. Bir Singh of Delhi, first-hand. Being a COPD patient, Mr. Singh was advised by his doctor to use his Oxygen Concentrator for nearly 20 hours every day at a flow setting of 2L/minute. Mr. Singh’s family panicked when their Oxygen Concentrator developed a snag during the lockdown. With no service, spares, or assistance available from the existing vendor, they were desperately searching for a solution to help Bir Singh breathe better.
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