52 ventilators in Delhi hospitals not functional

New Delhi: The AAP government has informed the Delhi High Court that of the 400 ventilator beds in hospitals under its control, 52 are not functional and efforts are being made to repair them. The Delhi government has said that the hospitals have been asked to repair the ventilators or procure new ones at the earliest. The submission came in a report filed through additional standing counsel Satyakam in response to the court’s query regarding the status of ventilators available in Delhi government hospitals. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V. K. Rao on January 30 had sought to know the status of ventilators in government hospitals after it was told that a three- yearold, admitted in the LNJP Hospital since January 24 and suffering from a critical neurological condition, was in dire need of the breathing apparatus but was making do with a manual resuscitator. The critical medical condition of the boy and his need for a ventilator was brought to the court’s attention by advocate Ashok Agarwal. The child died on February 10, the Delhi government’s status report has said. The court while seeking to know about the status of ventilators had also expressed its dissatisfaction with the manner in which the Delhi government had responded to the issue of putting online the details of medical facilities available at its hospitals.