6 days ago
Chandigarh: 60% COVID ventilators at GMCH-32 lying ‘defunct'
Over 60% of ventilators at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, remain non-functional, severely impacting critical care services. Of the 95 ventilators received from the central government during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, only 35 are currently operational in the hospital's ICUs, while the rest have been left unused and stored away. This lapse poses a significant challenge to patient care in the 1,047-bed facility, which saw these machines fully utilised during the pandemic to support patients struggling to breathe. An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticised GMCH-32, for failing to alert the administration about the prolonged non-utilisation of ventilators. (HT Photo for representation)
The GMCH-32, which serves not only the tricity but also patients from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, received 95 ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic at an estimated cost of ₹4 lakh each. These ventilators, supplied by Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), Jyoti Dhaman, and Covidien, now face operational hurdles, as the hospital cannot renew their comprehensive maintenance contracts (CMC) due to non-responsiveness from the manufacturers. Dr Sanjeev Palta, head of the anaesthesia department, stated that despite repeated attempts to contact BHEL and Jyoti Dhaman, the lack of contract renewal has rendered many ventilators unusable, affecting critical care for the region's patients.
An official, speaking on condition of anonymity, criticised GMCH-32, for failing to alert the administration about the prolonged non-utilisation of ventilators. The official said, 'It was the institute's responsibility to maintain the equipment, renew the CMC, and ensure their smooth functioning rather than allowing them to deteriorate in a storage room.'
While manufacturers have reportedly not responded to the hospital's requests for contract renewal, Dr Palta said a biomedical engineer at the institute is currently handling the upkeep of the 35 operational ventilators. 'These machines are being used across multiple critical care units, including medicine, pulmonary, surgical, paediatric and cardiology ICUs, as well as high-dependency unit catering to neurology, orthopaedics and gynaecology patients,' Dr Palta added.
Chandigarh MP and chairman of the Rogi Kalyan Samiti governing body, Manish Tewari, has raised concerns over the large number of non-functional ventilators lying unused at the GMCH-32, for the past four years. Calling it a 'gross wastage' of government funds, MP Tewari said significant public money was spent on procuring these machines during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet they remain unutilised. He emphasised that they should be put to use without delay. The MP also revealed that in a recent governing body meeting, a proposal to purchase new ventilators for Government Multi Specialty Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16 was dropped after hospital officials admitted they lacked trained staff to operate them.
Another major obstacle in bringing the unused ventilators at GMCH-32 into service is the acute shortage of trained staff, as operating an ICU ventilator requires an anaesthetist, two nurses, two resident doctors, a sweeper and an attendant in three shifts, along with relievers and rotators. The staffing challenge is mirrored at GMSH-16, where several ventilators supplied during COVID also remain defunct.
Dr Suman Singh, director of health services, said many of the ventilators received during the pandemic are unsuitable for ICU use due to subpar performance. GMCH-32 director principal Dr Ashok Attri stated that ventilators are deployed according to the hospital's capacity, with about 35 high-end units currently in use, some shifted to the south campus. Apart from the 95 COVID ventilators, the institute also has another 50–60 ventilators spread across anaesthesia, medicine, surgery, respiratory medicine, and cardiology departments.
