Out of breath: Health department to probe ‘nonfunctional’ ventilators

Govt hospital official says those attached to ICU beds are in working order

LAHORE: The provincial health department formed high-level inquiry committees to determine the facts behind nonfunctional ventilators at the Services Hospital and Ganga Raam Hospital.

Services Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Sallahuddin submitted a report that the medical facility is running a 21-bedded ICU unit. He claimed a ventilator is attached to each bed and none of them are out of order.

Talking to The Express Tribune, he said that the hospital has a nine-bedded surgical ICU, 10-bedded general ICU and a two-bedded pediatric ICU. He insisted all of them were in full functional order.

“If the ventilators are out of order, how come the hospital’s emergency ward functions smoothly?” he asked. “There has been no report of a death in the ICU in recent times,” he commented. “However, we have initiated an inquiry and a report will be submitted within three days” he said.

Recently, reports emerged that 17 ventilators at the Services hospital were out of order and the administration was trying to fix them immediately.

“Actually, the administration had put the live of poor people in danger and is now hiding its inefficiency,” commented Dr Afzal Ahmed of the Services Hospital. He added that hospital authorities are now scrambling to fix the ventilators on an emergency basis.”

He stated that despite the fact that the services hospital is the busiest in the city, the administration has done little to fix live-saving equipment in a timely manner.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2017.