THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: While the novel coronavirus situation worsens in the state, government hospitals in some taluks do not have medical ventilators. That when the pandemic is expected to peak in the coming days, with one in six Covid patients estimated to become seriously ill and possibly develop acute respiratory distress. Stepping in with damage control measures, the government has asked the health department to take stock of medical ventilators available across hospitals, both government and private.
A senior health department official told TNIE that Ponnani taluk, which was placed under triple lockdown after a spike in local transmission cases, did not have any ventilator in government hospitals. “Less than 10 ventilators are available in the private sector. There may be several places which don’t have adequate ventilator facilities,” the official said. The sorry state of Ponnani was revealed by Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta during an assessment meeting which Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan chaired last Wednesday, the official said. The meeting is also learnt to have heard a complaint from the Kollam district collector that none of the 39 ventilators ordered for the district had arrived.
While the Chief Minister directed the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd to initiate steps to ensure adequate ventilators at the peripheral level itself, the chief secretary directed the health department to take stock of operational ventilators in the state. According to a rough estimate by Dr Sulphi N, the IMA south zone vice-president, government and private hospitals together have around 6,000 ventilators.
“Not every ventilator is meant for Covid-19 patients. There are other patients who may need ventilator support. And not every Covid-19 patient needs ventilator support. So the current strength is enough. But if we have a community transmission-like situation, then our position is precarious,” he said.
Meanwhile, the health department said that they are looking for alternatives, including the newly-launched emergency breathing assist system device -- AirBridge Wipro-Chitra -- developed by the SCTIMST. While it is not a replacement for a mechanical ventilator, the device works as a bridge for a few hours, extendable to a few days.
Ventilators in pvt, govt hosps 6,000
As per IMA Ventilators in Covid hosps 482 As per CM