Ventilators bought for Covid not installed

Minister orders dispatch of equipment to DHQs

LAHORE:

Ventilators bought to save lives during the coronavirus pandemic have not been used in hospitals by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department despite the passage of a year.

The ventilators were purchased for all the district headquarters (DHQ) hospitals but have not yet been provided to them. Tenders had been awarded for the purchase of the equipment on an emergency basis in May 2020, but they have been lying in the department's Project Management Unit (PMU) warehouse at Multan Road since last year. Other valuable equipment and supplies of intensive care units (ICUs) are also lying in the warehouse.

Meanwhile, the hospitals in the districts are facing a shortage of ICU equipment, including ventilators, as per sources in the health sector.

Ventilators were taken from many DHQ health facilities and given to some teaching hospitals during the spread of coronavirus.

Provincial Primary and Secondary Healthcare Minister Dr Akhtar Malik has taken serious notice of the negligence of the department after the disclosure.

He inspected the warehouse where the items bought for hospitals had been lying for more than a year.

Dr Malik reportedly questioned the officers of the department as to why the ventilators and other medical equipment and supplies had not been sent to the DHQ and Tehsil headquarters (THQ) hospitals.

He asked why a plan had not been prepared for installing the equipment in the DHQ and THQ hospitals before purchasing it. The officers did not have any satisfactory answer.

Dr Malik said the equipment lying in the warehouse should be immediately sent to the DHQ and THQ hospitals and used to save the lives of patients.

Meanwhile, it was also revealed that Rs3 million monthly rent was being paid for the warehouse of the PMU. More than Rs250 million has been paid under the head since 2016.

It is considered a very high rent in a rural area far from the city.

The minister ordered vacation of the expensive warehouse and immediate dispatch of the stored items to the hospitals.

Dr Malik said the department should build its own warehouse.

According to the sources, due to the delay in the installation of the ventilators and other medical equipment, their warranty period is also passing. ECG, ultrasound and mobile X-ray machines, D-type oxygen cylinders, bedside monitors, wheelchairs, and a large number of other items are lying in the store.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 6^th, 2022.