150 ventilators under PM-Cares fund arrive at Delhi centre, all functioning

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in April 2020, the Centre has been procuring medical devices including ventilators, which have been distributed among states and Union territories.

Around 150 GPS-enabled ventilators provided under the PM Cares Trust Fund have started functioning at Delhi's Sardar Patel Covid Centre. The Covid care centre, run by the Delhi government and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, started its operation on April 26, as the Capital witnessed the peak of the second wave of the pandemic.

All these ventilators that arrived at Delhi's Sardar Patel Covid Centre are GPS-enabled.

The request for 150 ventilators on a loan basis for a period of six months for the critical patients at the Covid care centre was raised by ITBP DG, SS Deswal.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in April 2020, the Centre has been procuring medical devices including ventilators, which have been distributed among states and Union territories.

The ventilators at Delhi's Covid care centre are all functional.

The request for these ventilators was made by ITBP DG, SS Deswal for critical patients at the centre.

Recently, some states claimed ventilators procured by the Centre have been found faulty.

Amid reports of ventilators procured by the Centre not working properly, the Centre has recently clarified that when the pandemic began last year, ventilators were available in a very limited number in government hospitals.

"Very limited manufacturing of ventilators was taking place in the country and most of the suppliers abroad were not in a position to make supplies of ventilators in large quantities to India. That is when the local manufacturers were encouraged to produce “Make in India" Ventilators to address the huge projected demand of the country and orders placed on them. Many of them were first time manufacturers of the ventilators," the Centre said in a statement.

The Centre also clarified that detailed instructions and guidelines have been issued to all ventilator users regarding proper usage and maintenance of the ventilators.

On May 9, the Union health ministry wrote to states and Union territories informing them about the helpline numbers of the manufacturers. State-wise WhatsApp groups have also been created with nodal officers of the states concerned, the representative of the hospitals and technical teams of the manufacturers so that they can coordinate if any technical issue is faced.