Nearly 40% of PM Cares ventilators faulty or pending installation in Punjab

Nearly 40% of ventilators received under the PM Cares Fund in Punjab are either faulty or pending installation due to non-compatibility with equipment in state hospitals.

Managing director, Punjab Health Systems Corporation, Tanu Kashyap said all 809 ventilators received through the Central scheme have been distributed. “Of these, 174 are non-functional, while 136 are yet to be installed,” she said.

The state government had earlier this month flagged the issue of defective ventilators received under the scheme and urged the Centre to direct the company to repair the faulty lifesaving machines.

On Wednesday, it was found that of the 80 ventilators received under the scheme at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot, 71 were defective. According to official information, 47 of the 59 ventilators at Government Medical College, Amritsar, and 50 at the Government Medical College, Patiala, were also non-functional.

Earlier this month, Punjab health secretary Hussan Lal had written to joint secretary, Union ministry of health and family welfare Dr Mandeep Kumar Bhandari saying that there are complaints of malfunctioning in ventilators.

The health secretary said they raised the issue of defective ventilators with central authorities during video conference and through a letter in first week of May. “During the meeting, some other states also raised similar issues with the ventilators delivered under PM Cares Fund. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has been entrusted the work of installation and maintenance of ventilators. The company further appointed another firm, TBS, for the purpose. The private company do not have enough manpower due to which there is delay installation and repair. A team engineers visited the Faridkot medical college on Wednesday to repair ventilators. But these machines are not compatible with other equipment installed at the hospitals across the state, so we are facing difficulty to make them functional,” he said

In April, the Union health ministry had asked Punjab to install all 809 ventilators supplied under PM Cares Fund. The Union health secretary had said that of the total ventilators, only 558 have been installed while 251 are still pending installation. “Non-commissioning of ventilators defeats the very purpose of this exercise by the government of India. There is a need for taking urgent steps to complete the installation of the ventilators for management of Covid pandemic,” he added.