HYDERABAD: As the city struggles to find ventilator beds for critically ill COVID-19 patients, there are about 20 beds equipped with ventilators lying unused in Kondapur Area Hospital.
It is learnt that these beds, also equipped with monitors and machines to check vitals, have been unused for over a year due to lack of specialists at the facility. The beds are available on the second floor of the hospital, which is treating only moderate cases of COVID-19.
"We recently gave two oxygen concentrators of five litres capacity each. We also got several oxygen cylinders repaired and undertook other maintenance works in the hospital. However, as there is no super specialist, patients whose condition deteriorates can't be catered to," said Pradeep Gadicherla, an IT professional and member of 'Feed the Needy' NGO.
In fact, critical patients are being sent to TIMS, where the waiting time for a ventilator bed is very long, with a minimum of five patients queuing up for one such bed.
Five ventilators lying idle at King Koti
A group of doctors, under the banner of Deccan College of Medical Sciences (DCMS) Alumni Association, prepared a proposal to resume treatment for severe cases in this hospital at a cost of Rs 50 lakh from private hospitals using Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.
Meanwhile, a similar situation prevails in King Koti District Hospital, where at least five ventilators are lying unused for want of repairs. As ventilators lie defunct, The New Indian Express accessed a report submitted by the State government to the High Court in November last year, which shows that the equipment available with the State is like a drop in the ocean.
As per the information, the State has 2,933 ventilators, of which 1,653 are in the government facilities and the rest in private hospitals. Apart from this, the government hospitals have only 174 Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) and 158 High Flow Nasal Cannula (HFNC) machines for serious patients, which are too few.
As per the medical bulletin, government ICU beds have now been increased to 2,141 beds, whereas private facilities have 8,959 ICU beds. However, despite availability of these beds, the requirement from patients is not being met.
"On Thursday, I got 35 requests for ventilator beds for patients whose oxygen saturation went below 45. No hospital has beds to admit them. Unless someone passes away, no bed is available. In the last one week, 10 people for whom I was arranging beds died due to delays," rued Sai Charan Chikkulla, a volunteer arranging beds for COVID-19 patients.