Ventilators lying unused at LNJP hospital due to shortage of staff

New Delhi: Out of 35 ventilators the Delhi government delivered to Lok Nayak Hospital in March 2017, nearly 10 ventilators are gathering dust due to shortage of technical staff and the patients continue to suffer for last seven months.

Various departments like medicine, neurosurgery and ICU are need these ventilators. "Due to non-installment of the ventilators, patients in the medicine ward on the third floor of the hospital can be seen using ambu-bags - a manual, handheld resuscitation device," said source.

According to the sources, "These life saving machines worth Rs 6 crore were bought by the city government."

Dr RS Ahlawat, HoD of medicine in hospital, admitted that all the ventilators supplied to his department were not in use due to shortage of manpower and said he was helpless.

Requesting anonymity, a senior doctor at Lok Nayak Hospital said, "Earlier, we were lacking ventilators at our hospital. But now when we have this medical equipment available here, hospital authorities are short of trained professionals to use them." He further said, "The hospital has only two technicians to handle these 35 ventilators while the required number of technicians is 10."

Though, the Delhi government has operationalized 125 new life saving machines in most of its hospitals, shortage of trained professionals to operate these machines has put the hospital authorities in a fix at a time when there is a massive demand from needy patients. Ventilators are life-supporting medical equipment for critically ill patients by which they can breathe.