Covid ventilators worth crores lie unused, gather dust at Uttar Pradesh hospital

Ventilators supplied to Maharajganj during the Covid-19 pandemic have remained unused at the district women's hospital for years. Officials say missing pipelines, trained staff and other resources kept the equipment idle, though shifting to a critical care unit has begun.

In Short

• Ventilators worth crores remain unused in Maharajganj hospital.
• Equipment was supplied via PM CARES Fund during Covid crisis.
• Critical care unit now ready, shifting of ventilators underway.

Ventilators worth crores of rupees, supplied to a hospital in Uttar Pradesh's Maharajganj during the Covid-19 pandemic, have remained unused for years due to a lack of the infrastructure and resources needed to operate them.

The ventilators were purchased through the PM CARES Fund after hospitals across the country faced a severe shortage of critical-care equipment during the pandemic. Maharajganj received 18 sets of ventilators, but a reality check found several of them still packed away and gathering dust at the district's women's hospital.

VENTILATORS KEPT LOCKED AWAY

During the Covid pandemic, the women's hospital housed a Covid command centre. When the ventilators arrived, they were kept in rooms on the fifth floor of the multi-storey hospital building and locked away.

Years later, the equipment remains largely unused. During the inspection, beds and some large equipment were found outside the rooms, while electronic monitors and other valuable components used by the ventilators were kept locked inside.

The equipment was supplied at a time when a shortage of ventilators and other medical devices had put enormous pressure on hospitals treating critically ill Covid patients.

LACK OF INFRA KEPT EQUIPMENT IDLE

Maharajganj Chief Medical Officer Dr Surendra Kumar Chaudhary said the ventilators could not be put to use because the required pipeline system and other resources were not available.

He said a critical care unit has now been completed and preparations are underway to shift the ventilators there.

CMO SAYS EQUIPMENT WILL BE USED

According to the CMO, the ventilators will be put into service once the required pipeline is installed, trained staff are made available and the remaining equipment is procured.

"We have also started shifting the ventilators to the critical care unit," Chaudhary said, adding that the equipment would be used once the necessary arrangements are completed.

- Ends