Assam: 140 ventilators still awaiting installation in hospitals

GUWAHATI: Even as PM Narendra Modi has called for an immediate audit to check if ventilators allocated to the states are functioning, TOI has found that in 11 districts of Assam, mostly rural areas, the installation of over 140 ventilators allocated under the PM Cares Fund is still awaited. The state health department has cited lack of dedicated ICUs and inadequate space in several district civil hospitals for the delay in the installation of the ventilators.
While the second wave of Covid-19 continues to sweep the country, with the prediction of the third wave causing more worries, the health authorities are only hoping that these unutilized live-saving units will be operationalized soon. There is a growing concern in health circles about the unutilized ventilators in some of the health institutions from where these allocated ventilators are going to be shifted out.
“No dedicated ICUs are available. The ventilators are being planned for relocation to other health institutions,” a state health department spokesperson told TOI regarding the pending installation in Dhubri Civil Hospital (DCH). As per the chart available with the National Health Mission (NHM), Assam, a total of 20 PM Cares CV200 ventilators manufactured by the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), were allotted to DCH in west Assam. But after four ventilators were installed, the implementation of the scheme faced a roadblock. This diversion of allocated ventilators may sound as an injustice to the minority inhabited district where a large chunk of poor wage earners cannot afford to go to private hospitals and have been dependent on this government hospital. But NHM, Assam executive director, Dr Manoj Choudhury, said that diversion of ventilators is inevitable.
"It's not a normal situation. Ventilators cannot be installed without ICUs and trained manpower. Wherever necessary, we have diverted some ventilators to build up the facility in a consolidated place to help Covid patients." Since the PM Cares Fund was launched last year, the Centre has sent a total of 967 BEL ventilators to Assam. Out of 967 ventilators, 826 have been installed and 141 are pending installation, a statement by the NHM, Assam informed. In nearby South SalmaraMancachar district, the underpreparedness to combat the Covid crisis is visible, as none of the five ventilators allotted to the Hatsingimari Sub-Divisional Civil Hospital could be completely installed.
The Sonitpur Civil Hospital got a major boost when the government allotted 10 ventilators to this important hospital in north Assam. But here too, the installation of all the ventilators is pending as per a recent report. For the Lakhimpur Medical College, eight ventilators were allotted.
However, these are yet to be dispatched from the NHM store. The reason cited is non-completion of the construction of the medical college. Similar is the condition at Nagaon MCH (Mother and Child Care) wing, where the installation is pending for all the 10 ventilators.
The existing government ICU facility in the Nagaon hospital is functional with 23 ventilators. So, the pending 10 have been planned to be shifted to the new medical college in Nagaon, once it becomes operational, a health official said. Though the state health department may face a difficult time during the audit, for the unused ventilators at such an hour of crisis, top officials in the health department said they have got their share of ventilators at the right time for future use.
"Lack of infrastructure has hindered installation. Such allocation doesn't come frequently," the official said. Atotal 50 ventilators was allocated to the Diphu Medical College Hospital in East Karbi Anglong. Installation has been completed for only 15 ventilators, while the rest 35 are still pending. The latest data has revealed that all 10 ventilators are pending installation at the Cachar Civil Hospital. Then again, half of the 10 ventilators earmarked for the Hailakandi Civil Hospital in the same Barak Valley region are pending for installation.
The corresponding figures for RNB Civil Hospital in Kokrajhar are eight installations completed out of the 20 allocations. No additional space is available at the hospital for the installation and eight ventilators have been installed against the eight-bedded existing ICU facility.
Same is the plight in the Tinsukia Civil Hospital where 20 of the 35 allocated ventilators could not be installed due to lack of additional space. The existing ICU facility in the hospital has 15 beds. In Biswanath district, where proper healthcare has always been a major issue for the tea garden workers, the health department managed to complete the installation of 12 out of the 22 ventilators allocated to this north Assam district. The remaining 10 are pending at Gohpur, as health officials said no ICU is available to complete the installation of the ventilators.