ANANTNAG : In early March when the valley started reporting Covid-19 cases, authorities at GMC Anantnag ordered the purchase of twenty ventilators following the severe criticism over the lack of infrastructure at the healthcare facility to deal with the Covid-19.
The principal of Medical College had then claimed that the ventilators will be installed within a week. But now when the situation has started turning ugly with steep rise in the number of Covid cases and deaths, the medical college continues to function with just two ventilators.
Sources in GMC Anantnag said that the hospital has just two odd ventilators that it had before the outbreak of Covid-19 in the valley.
“In the Covid designated ward of the hospital only two ventilators are there.
Authorities might have ordered the purchase of more ventilators but they are either yet to arrive or have not been installed yet,” a source at GMC Anantnag said.
GMC Anantnag is the major healthcare facility in the southern region.
After the GMC started functioning more than a year ago, government, according to sources, released more than Rs 70 crore rupees for its infrastructure development.
A doctor posted at GMC Anantnag said that the imposition of lockdown in early March meant that the major hospitals will get prepared for the worst but besides designating a 14 bedded isolation ward initially, GMC Anantnag did nothing to upgrade the infrastructure.
He said that from last over a week all the fourteen beds in the isolation ward of GMC remain occupied and authorities have failed to increase the bed strength for Covid cases.
“When the new DC joined he visited the GMC and directed for setting up another Covid ward but nearly a month has passed since then nothing has happened despite the availability of the space,” the doctor said.
From last several days Kashmir hospitals have received more complicated Covid 19 cases of all the age groups, young middle aged and elderly forcing the experts to sound an alarm and stressing on the fresh strict lockdown.
“There is a spike in deaths from last few days. Earlier only elderly people with other medical conditions would die but now we are witnessing young Covid patients dying.
In Srinagar hospitals designated for handling Covid 19, all the beds remain occupied. To deal with such crisis, GMC Annantnag should have ensured purchase and installation of ventilators in the isolation wards to avoid referrals to Srinagar where such hospitals are already occupied,” said another doctor.
Principal GMC, Anantnag, Dr Showkat Jeelani said that out of twenty ventilators ordered by GMC they have received only three.
“Since the demand for ventilators has grown across the country, ventilators are running short in the market. But I am hopeful we will receive five more ventilators within a week,” Principal said.
He also said that they are going to come up with another Covid ward at GMC within a week.
“Increasing the bed strength for Covid cases is our priority. We will be doing it in a week,” he said.(Kashmir Times)
