SRINAGAR: Thirteen of the 14 ventilators available in the Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology at Government Medical College (GMC) Baramulla have remained non-functional for the past nine months, an RTI response has revealed.
The information was furnished in response to an RTI application filed by Inam Un Nabi Soudagar, who sought details regarding the availability, procurement and functioning of ventilators at the medical college.
According to the response, only one of the 14 ventilators is currently functional, while the remaining 13 are non-functional due to the non-availability of consumables and the need to replace certain components.
The hospital stated that five Hamilton C1 ventilators were procured in 2020, five Evolution 3e ventilators in 2021 and four ventilators under a Central Government scheme through the National Health Mission (NHM) in 2022.
The RTI response further revealed that no expenditure had been incurred on the repair and maintenance of the ventilators since January 2020. It also stated that none of the machines had been declared condemned or beyond repair.
An official from GMC Baramulla said repair work had been initiated and the hospital was awaiting some spare parts from outside.
“Some spare parts are required from outside and have been ordered. Once these are received, the non-functional ventilators will be made operational at the earliest,” the official said.(KNO)
