Patna: HC seeks status report on life saving equipment at government hospitals

PATNA: Irked at situation of ventilators and dialysis equipment either lying unused or malfunctioning at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH), the Patna high court on Friday directed the health department principal secretary to file status report on availability and functionality of these life-saving equipment at all government-run medical institution across Bihar.
The bench of Justice Jyoti Saran and Justice Partha Sarthy were hearing a PIL filed by Vikash Chandra alias Guddu Baba in which he had urged the court to direct concerned officials for installing three ventilators which were lying unused and packed inside boxes at Patna Medical College and Hospital in which they had arrived in 2012.
The petitioner had also urged that several such ventilators were lying defunct due to malfunctioning and officials must be directed to make them functional. The PIL was filed in February 20 last year.
On June 28 this year, the court had increased the ambit of PIL to dialysis equipment too on basis of a newspaper report in which it was mentioned that dialysis equipment at PMCH were lying idle too.
While posting the matter for hearing again on August 30, the court also ordered the PMCH superintendent to file a separate counter-affidavit along with health secretary replying that why no steps were taken for installing the ventilators which were lying unused for long time at the hospital. The court also observed that it would not tolerate misuse of public money in this away where equipment worth several lakh each were lying unused.
The health department had filed a counter-affidavit on July 19 accepting that some of the ventilators were lying non-functional at PMCH and they would be made functional soon.
The PMCH superintendent had earlier also filed a counter-affidavit in April last year accepting that three ventilators were lying non-functional and directions were given to a private supplier named Sona Drug Agency to make them functional within a fortnight in March last year along with supply of medical grade portable air compressor and good quality humidifier for them and five more ventilators as their non-supply had caused problem in their functioning in paediatrics department.
That time it was also accepted in counter-affidavit that out of ten ventilators in two wings of paediatrics department, five were lying non-functional and work order was given to AGS Medical for carrying out repairing works.