Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Sep 24
Member of Legislative Assembly Javid Hassan Baig on Thursday questioned how non-functional ventilators were handled at Government Medical College (GMC) Baramulla and called for hospitals to maintain reserve life-support equipment.
Baig said the GMC administration’s response to a calling-attention notice showed that action should have been taken before the ventilators became unusable.
He said ventilators were critical equipment and hospitals should have backup capacity to ensure patients were not affected while faulty machines were being repaired.
“If your capacity is 50, you should have 10-15 surplus, so that if there is a problem somewhere, you can replace it,” Baig said.
He said the issue should not be confined to GMC Baramulla and called for a system-wide review of critical equipment in government hospitals.
Baig said he did not believe the lapse was intentional, describing it instead as an “unintentional lapse”, but urged authorities to be more vigilant.
He said the health minister would decide what action, if any, should be taken against officials concerned.
