Engineers unable to repair defective ventilators, makers called in for backup

Aurangabad, May 13:

Engineers of the ventilator company that were supplied under the PM Cares Fund have been working on repairs since Wednesday. But the ventilators are getting defunct again during reuse. Such 5 ventilators were defunct even after repairs. However, the insistence on ventilator repairs persists and now the engineers from the company that manufactured the ventilators are called for repair in the city.

In the last two days, Lokmat Times has reported that 150 ventilators received from the PM Cares Fund to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) are faulty and unusable in the ICU. These defunct ventilators are kept in the medicine department. The engineers and technicians of the concerned company are trying to repair the ventilators. The officials of the medicine department said that so far 5 ventilators have been repaired, these ventilators have been used by patients, but to no avail. This is because the patient's oxygen level does not increase. On the contrary, the level drops down. Because of the state of the ventilators, only those engineers who built the ventilators will be able to repair them, said officials. The software is also not working properly.

Report of experts say:

Ventilator arrived in the GMCH on April 12. Then on April 18, some ventilators were delivered to MICU and ICU. But the very next day, they received complaints. The engineers arrived on April 23 and 24 and tried to repair the ventilators for two days. Two ventilators were repaired. But the patient's oxygen (saturation) level does not increase.

Condition brought to notice of officials:

After 100 ventilators reached the GMCH on April 12, their condition was brought to the notice of the district collector and divisional commissioner. A meeting was also held in this regard. Still a green signal was given for the ventilators. It was also decided to give these ventilators to other districts and private hospitals, by the divisional commissioner and district collector.

Pressure to keep faulty ventilators in GMCH

Attempts are being made to repair 14 ventilators. The 50 ventilators are still unopened. These ventilators are being kept in the GMCH despite being not suitable for use. Some politicians and public representatives are putting pressure on the GMCH administration. It is understood that the authorities are being threatened with action if they reject ventilators provided by the central government.

Ventilators provided to private hospitals

On April 12, 31 out of 100 ventilators received from the PM Cares Fund were distributed to 4 private hospitals in the city. The ventilators that had come for the GMCH were given directly to private hospitals. In August last year, the district administration had also provided government ventilators to some private hospitals. Some of these ventilators are still used by private hospitals. The district administration had stated that patients who will be fitted with government ventilators will not be charged. An auditor was appointed to oversee the use. But in reality, patients are being charged thousands of rupees for the ventilators.