Lahore:The Department of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education has directed the Medical Superintendents (MSs) of six government teaching hospitals to submit a report within 24 hours regarding the non-functionality of ventilators in their Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
A formal letter was issued by the Health Department on Thursday to address the issue urgently.
The department highlighted that a Biomedical Engineering (BME) portal has been established to assist the development and procurement processes of government hospitals. Teaching hospitals are required to update their data daily on this online platform.
According to details, several hospitals have reported a significant number of non-functional ventilators in their ICUs including the Mayo Hospital, Lahore where 42 out of 170 ventilators are inactive, Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital, Sialkot: 25 out of 34 ventilators inactive, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi: 20 out of 71 ventilators inactive, General Hospital, Lahore: 47 out of 129 ventilators in
active, Services Hospital, Lahore: 46 out of 99 ventilators inactive and Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology: 4 out of 42 ventilators inactive.
The Health Department has instructed all MSs to ensure that these ventilators are made operational immediately and to submit a compliance report within 24 hours.