Ronan Kelly
Retired 2020
State to buy ventilators as hosps gasp for breath
Sumitra Deb Roy, TNN, Aug 18, 2010, 06.47am IST
MUMBAI: With H1N1, fever and malaria cases going up every day, the government as well as the civic body have decided to invest in much-needed ventilators.
The decision was taken after the spurt in seasonal ailments left many at the mercy of private hospitals, some of which overcharged for providing ventilator- a device that assists in natural breathing-to patients.
Sanjay Dube, who lost his 10-month-old son to lungs failure last month, said he could not find a single ICU bed with ventilator, even after running around for five hours in Andheri, where he tried his luck in four hospitals. "I begged everywhere but not a single hospital had any free ventilator," said the father. Dube finally managed to find a bed at Wadia Hospital in Parel but it was too late by then.
Dindoshi resident Arihant Bang admitted his father, suffering from acute breathlessness after prolonged fever, to a Malad nursing home last week. But, within three days, Bang frantically started calling up all public hospitals, looking for an ICU bed with ventilator facility. "The Malad hospital were charging me Rs 6,000 per day only for the ventilator," he said. Bang has finally managed to admit his father at the BMC-run Sion Hospital.
However, the BMC-run hospitals, are themselves in dire need of ventilators, with a senior doctor saying at least 3%-5% of patients suffering from seasonal ailments require ICU care. For instance, BYL Nair Hospital has 55 ventilators but all are occupied at present. "And, there are many on the waiting list," said deputy dean Dr M H Shah. The situation is similar at KEM and Sion hospitals.
All the civic hospitals put together does not have more than 300 ventilators. Additional municipal commissionerManisha Mhaiskar said looking at the demand, 25 ventilators would be procured soon. "Last year, too, we had bought about 100 ventilators," she said.
The state-run JJ hospital too has about 80 ventilators at its disposal, while there are more than 400 ventilators in medical colleges in the state. "Though we have enough, we will buy 50-100 more," said Dr Pravin Shingare, joint director, DMER.
The crunch is evident even in the private sector. Big hospitals like Hinduja Hospital are also filled to their capacity. "All our 27 ventilators are occupied," said critical care intensivist Dr Khusrav Bhajan.
Read more: State to buy ventilators as hosps gasp for breath - Mumbai - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-breath/articleshow/6327687.cms#ixzz0wvEF3iIb
Sumitra Deb Roy, TNN, Aug 18, 2010, 06.47am IST
MUMBAI: With H1N1, fever and malaria cases going up every day, the government as well as the civic body have decided to invest in much-needed ventilators.
The decision was taken after the spurt in seasonal ailments left many at the mercy of private hospitals, some of which overcharged for providing ventilator- a device that assists in natural breathing-to patients.
Sanjay Dube, who lost his 10-month-old son to lungs failure last month, said he could not find a single ICU bed with ventilator, even after running around for five hours in Andheri, where he tried his luck in four hospitals. "I begged everywhere but not a single hospital had any free ventilator," said the father. Dube finally managed to find a bed at Wadia Hospital in Parel but it was too late by then.
Dindoshi resident Arihant Bang admitted his father, suffering from acute breathlessness after prolonged fever, to a Malad nursing home last week. But, within three days, Bang frantically started calling up all public hospitals, looking for an ICU bed with ventilator facility. "The Malad hospital were charging me Rs 6,000 per day only for the ventilator," he said. Bang has finally managed to admit his father at the BMC-run Sion Hospital.
However, the BMC-run hospitals, are themselves in dire need of ventilators, with a senior doctor saying at least 3%-5% of patients suffering from seasonal ailments require ICU care. For instance, BYL Nair Hospital has 55 ventilators but all are occupied at present. "And, there are many on the waiting list," said deputy dean Dr M H Shah. The situation is similar at KEM and Sion hospitals.
All the civic hospitals put together does not have more than 300 ventilators. Additional municipal commissionerManisha Mhaiskar said looking at the demand, 25 ventilators would be procured soon. "Last year, too, we had bought about 100 ventilators," she said.
The state-run JJ hospital too has about 80 ventilators at its disposal, while there are more than 400 ventilators in medical colleges in the state. "Though we have enough, we will buy 50-100 more," said Dr Pravin Shingare, joint director, DMER.
The crunch is evident even in the private sector. Big hospitals like Hinduja Hospital are also filled to their capacity. "All our 27 ventilators are occupied," said critical care intensivist Dr Khusrav Bhajan.
Read more: State to buy ventilators as hosps gasp for breath - Mumbai - City - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-breath/articleshow/6327687.cms#ixzz0wvEF3iIb