SHRC seeks report on condition of ventilators at SAT Hospital

The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on Wednesday took a suo motu case on the basis of reports that appeared in some sections of the media that 11 of the ventilators in SAT Hospital were not in a working condition.

However, the Superintendent of Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, in a statement here, denied the media reports and stated that adequate number of ventilators were available for use at SAT Hospital and that the ventilators which were said to be not in a working condition were in fact machines which were either condemned or set aside for repairs.

SHRC has ordered that an official not below the rank of a Deputy Director of Medical Education inquire into the state of affairs and to check specifically whether the ventilators in paediatric surgery and neonatology were in a working condition.

Panel directive

The commission ordered that steps be taken to make the ventilators functional or to take necessary steps to acquire new ones. The inquiry report must be submitted to the SHRC within a month.

Meanwhile, MCH authorities in a statement said that the media reports were highly selective and that while speaking about the ventilators which were not functional, the reports deliberately failed to mention about the 50 or more ventilators which were currently in operation in the hospital.

There were more than adequate number of functional ventilators in SAT Hospital now and no one had been denied care for lack of ventilators, the MCH Superintendent clarified.

He said that the media reports only served to create anxiety amongst people who travelled long distances, even from other States to SAT Hospital expecting expert care for infants.

50 ventilators functional

The statement said that over 50 ventilators were currently functional at the hospital in the paediatric ICU, newborn ICU, paediatric cardiology/ surgery ICUs and mothers’ intensive treatment unit and that for all these ICUs put together, not more than 35 to 40 ventilators were required.

Ten ventilators were always kept in reserve. The additional number of ventilators were acquired during COVID time.

When these were the facts, it was unfortunate that misleading information about the hospital was being spread through media, the statement said.