ALMOST HALF OF PM CARES VENTILATORS FAULTY, RIMS DOC TELLS PM

A senior doctor at the state’s premiere hospital Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the condition of 100 ventilators received through the PM Cares Fund, saying that almost half of them were faulty, during talks via video conferencing with the PM recently Monday.

Dr Pradip Bhattacharya, head of trauma centre at RIMS, was among the nine doctors participating from across the nation in the meeting. The critical care expert informed the PM about their journey so far in the ongoing battle with Covid-19, that included treatment of about 2,000 patients at the facility, besides limitations in terms of equipment and manpower. “I informed him about our work and also the difficulties we faced during the period. We have received 100 ventilators through the PM Cares Fund, besides oxygen concentrators and high flow equipment. While the other equipment are working fine, 45 of 100 ventilators could not be used due to technical faults,” said Dr Bhattacharya.

Following this, the PMO swung into action with Dr Bhattacharya receiving a phone call from the former soon after the meeting ended. “I was asked for details of the nature of snag the ventilators developed. I shared all details with them,” Dr Bhattacharya said. He, however, said the faulty machines did not have an immediate impact on the health care system at the centre, as there were already around 100 functional ventilators at the hospital.