Residents distressed over dire shortage of ventilators

All three hospitals operating on total of 59 ventilators altogether

RAWALPINDI: The public sector hospitals in Rawalpindi are facing an acute shortage of ventilator facility.

The hospitals are supposed to provide treatment to patients coming not only from the garrison city but also from adjoining areas.

Ventilators available in all three major public hospitals are far less than the international standard, posing a serious threat to the lives of those who are already at risk.

All three hospitals have a collective total of 2,185 beds; therefore, according to international standards there should typically be a collective total of 280 ventilators in all three of the hospitals combined. However, all three hospitals are operating with a mere 59 ventilators altogether.

The backlash of the shortage was witnessed when a female patient died on her way to a private hospital because of no ventilator facility for her in the Holy Family Hospital on June 25. The incident started a scuffle between the hospital’s administration and the family of the deceased, after which the hospital remained in a state of disturbance for hours.

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According to the survey conducted by The Express Tribune, the 832 bed Benazir Bhutto General Hospital (BBGH) only has 41 functioning ventilators which according to international standards should be 100. Similarly, the 900 bed Holy Family Hospital has only 12 operative ventilators, when it should have 120.

Furthermore, the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital Rawalpindi is operating with only six ventilators and is therefore unable to cope with the rush of seriously ill patients from the city and surrounding areas, who need life support to survive.

The standardized number of ventilators for a 453 bed hospital is 60.

Thousands of patients are brought to the emergency rooms of these hospitals but still the emergency departments have not been upgraded to the status of trauma centers.  The related departments are only working up to 50 per cent of their capacity.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 28^th, 2019.