BMC to procure 50 additional ventilators

As the city is overrun with coronavirus patients, there is an urgent need to increase medical equipment, especially ventilators. Taking note of it, Brihanmumbai

As the city is overrun with coronavirus patients, there is an urgent need to increase medical equipment, especially ventilators. Taking note of it, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to procure 50 ventilators on an immediate basis.

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“We have decided to procure 50 ventilators. A budgetary provision has been made for the same,” said Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner (health), BMC. “We have also given 60 dysfunctional ventilators for repair which were lying in the city hospitals,” he added.

Currently, BMC has 600 ventilators, including all the four major civic-run hospitals and Kasturba Gandhi Hospital. Due to the plunge in the number of admissions in these hospitals, several ventilators have been lying unused, which can be used for Covid-19 isolation wards in emergencies. But considering the 12 million population of Mumbai, the number will be inadequate, according to medical experts.

“Due to the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Italy, the country has been facing a severe shortage of ventilators,” said Anant Bhant, a researcher on global health. “In India, the demand of ventilators can go up to one million but we have around 50,000 which is extremely inadequate,” he added.

Ventilator care is required at the end stage of treatment when the patient’s breathing condition deteriorates. People with cardiac problems or smoking habits might need it at an early stage of treatment. “The virus first attacks the upper respiratory tract when the patient develops sore throat and fever. If the patient is not treated on time or has weak immunity, the virus reaches the lower respiratory tract when the complications develop,” said Dr Om Srivastava, a city-based epidemiologist.

Most of the ventilator parts are mostly imported from Europe and China. But due to the pandemic, production has been delayed. Ashok Patel, CEO of Max Ventilators said, “Ventilators are a compilation of different parts which are imported from Japan and the US. Due to the restrictions on transport, supply has been hit badly.”