Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tweeted, on December 12 in 2016, saying that 125 new ventilators will be installed in the government hospitals against the demand of 80.
As many as 125 new ventilators purchased for Delhi government hospitals for Rs 9 crore may risk lives of several patients as a power cut could lead to snapping of oxygen, an expert committee had warned. The three-member panel's concerns, that were ignored, find mention in an audit report of Delhi government accessed by DNA.
These ventilators replaced the old ambu bags that were used for manual ventilation and had led to several deaths in the Capital. The panel from Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC) had suggested that the ventilators cannot be used in the case of turbine or air failure, and opined that it is not safe to use such ventilators in the best interest of patient care.
This means, if any government hospital in the Capital faces a power cut, and the generators took a gap to function, these ventilators will not be able to provide critical oxygen supply to the patients. The audit report has raised serious questions over the purchase of these machines by the Central Procurement Agency (CPA). The agency is already facing charges of financial irregularities highlighted by the vigilance department.
Secretary (Health) Sanjiv Khirwar said that he will look into the matter. "I have been informed about the report and it appears that the administrative approvals were not taken before purchasing the machines. I will read the report and will take action against the officers involved."
Sources close to health minister Satyendar Jain said the matter has not been brought to his notice.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tweeted, on December 12 in 2016, saying that 125 new ventilators will be installed in the government hospitals against the demand of 80. These ventilators have been installed in Lok Nayak, GB Pant, Deen Dayal Upadhay (DDU), Deep Chand Bandhu, Baba Saheb Ambedkar and other state-run hospitals.
"The suggestions made by the committee were blatantly ignored by the CPA officials. The CM wanted new ventilators so that no patient has to be dependent on manual ventilation. But purchasing these specific ventilators will once again raise the need to use the manual ventilation," said one of the doctors who was a part of the committee.
The audit report said that the bids evaluation committee as well as the director of CPA did not consider the observations made by the DEAN, MAMC and placed the order of supply of the ventilators. The committee report further explained that the ventilators for which the bidders have offered to supply the external UPS (battery back-up) may be used as an alternative. According to the health officials, the compressor-based ventilators, for which bidders have offered to supply the external UPS, may be an alternation.
"The observations made by the MAMC were not recorded in the file and approval of the Special Purchase Committee was obtained, compromising the lives of patients by ignoring the valuable suggestions given by the committee," said the report.
Dr Vijoy Kumar, Director of CPA, said these allegations are false. "The committee members of MAMC did not see any demo of the functioning of these ventilators. These are of the highest quality and there is no fraud in purchasing the equipment," he said.
"The government has risked the lives of thousands of patients by purchasing such machinery. These technical reasons should have been considered before making the decision. This calls for an investigation," said BJP leader Vijender Gupta, who is the Leader of Opposition.
Better Sense
A power cut could lead to snapping of oxygen, an expert committee had warned. The three-member panel’s concerns, that were ignored, find mention in an audit report of Delhi govt
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