E-Paper
219 ventilators defunct in govt hospitals across J&K: Govt informs during assembly session
According to the data, GMC Jammu and its associated hospitals have a total of 320 ventilators, of which 209 were functional while 111 were non-functional
At least 219 ventilators are defunct in 10 government medical colleges and Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences across Jammu and Kashmir, a region which was ranked among the top four states/UTs in India for high prevalence rates of respiratory disease.
In a written reply to a starred question raised by MLA Shamim Firdous in the legislative assembly, health and medical education minister Sakina Itoo shared hospital-wise data of functional and defunct ventilators in government medical colleges (GMCs), associated hospitals and other major health institutions, including SKIMS.
“Out of a total of 877 ventilators, 658 are functional while 219 are defunct,” stated the official data.
According to the data, GMC Jammu and its associated hospitals have a total of 320 ventilators, of which 209 were functional while 111 were non-functional. Similarly, GMC Srinagar’s SMHS Hospital has 76 ventilators, with 68 functional and eight non-functional, while its other associated hospitals have 173 ventilators, including 44, that were not working.
The data further said that at GMC Anantnag and its associated hospitals, only 10 ventilators were functional against 26 defunct ones, out of a total of 36. GMC Baramulla reported two non-functional ventilators out of 41, while GMC Doda has 10 defunct ventilators out of 27 installed.
In GMC Kathua two non-functional ventilators out of 52 were reported, meanwhile, GMC Rajouri has three defunct out of total 54. GMC Udhampur reported all 39 ventilators to be functional. GMC Handwara also reported all six ventilators as functional.
At the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, 13 out of 53 ventilators were reported to be non-functional.
