The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

HEALTH

PGI has 20 ventilators, half not working
By Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 9
The PGI is facing an acute shortage of life-saving ventilators. The premier health care institute of the north has approximately 20 ventilators in its inventory — half of which are not even in the working order.

Departments, including the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Paediatric ICU, Neonatal ICU, Pulmonary Medicine and Paediatric Surgery, have been asking for these life-saving equipment but long purchase procedures followed by the institute has been forcing the doctors to work without them even when money has been sanctioned in the plan. At times planned grant is returned and lot of money gets remains underutilised.

PGI doctors lament that purchase procedures are so tedious and time consuming that between placing of the demand by the department and actual procurement, it may take as long as five years. And by then technology becomes almost obsolete and outdated. Quotations for purchasing ventilators have been invited several times but several administrative hurdles have been forcing the purchase getting more and more delayed.

Ventilators support the breathing to keep a person alive till he recovers following surgical procedures and every critical patient requires it. But it is a common sight in the ICUs of the PGI when attendants can be seen providing mechanical ventilatory support with ambu bags. Every minute the attendant has to press the bag 20 to 30 times for at least six to eight days causing strenuous mental and physical trauma.

Even doctors say that they are forced to deprive a very serious patient of the facility to save a more critical patient. Incidentally the cost of getting a ventilator is Rs 10,000 per day in the private sector. But even if the people can spend money, with only two private hospitals having just one ventilator each, they have to depend upon the facilities at the PGI.

Why existing ventilators constantly remain unservicable is due to many reason. The foremost is that each department buys a different kind making their servicing and maintenance almost impossible. Naturally, if the PGI purchases ventilators from one manufacturer, the company will be forced to provide maintenance of the equipment, adds a doctor.

In fact, because of the lack of bulk purchase, cost of equipment quoted by foreign companies is much higher than what they cost in Europe or the USA. Besides, the company has to give seller incentives, which are naturally added to the cost of the item.

Besides, the fact is that the government is a difficult buyer dissuades most of the reputed companies from making bids. First they have to deposit the earnest money and then hang to the babus to get them back. It is also alleged that taking advantage of the prolonged purchase procedures, manufactures dump outdated and second-hand equipment in the country. The PGI is actually buying old technology at inflated prices after following long purchase procedures, says a doctor.

Experts say that instead of long procedure, there should be special purchase rules for the hospitals. Ideally, all manufacturers should be asked to display their equipment to the doctors, the real users of the product. Depending upon their rating and preferences, equipment purchased finalised in one day and down payment made to eradicate the corruption.

ADMINISTRATION

Roundabout allotment
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 9
The Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, has to every now and then cancel the allocation of a round-about to a company or a corporate house on account of their failure to take up its development within the specified time. The same are, however, then allotted to the some other companies which show interest in sprucing them up.

The fund-starved MC lets out rotaries to sponsors for two years initially for development and maintenance and during which the latter is allowed to put up its logo at the site. Sources reveal that to begin with companies do come forward to adopt these rotaries as it also adds to their brand value but very few actually undertake the development of these in right earnest either due to funds constraint or lack of time to do so. The companies on an average have to spend around Rs 1 lakh a year on their maintenance besides paying for the initial costs of doing them up, however, MC does not take any charges for the same.

The MC on its part has no choice but to cancel all such allotments where no development has taken place and this is done as soon as a request from another party comes. The sponsors, however, maintain that MC should give them more than two years to maintain a roundabout as before the work is undertaken landscape plans have to be approved by the Architecture Department and that often takes time.

According to information available, the MC officials have recently cancelled the allotment of as many as four roundabouts to Selvel Media Services. These are the roundabout of Sectors 2, 3, 10, 11; 14, 15, 24 and 25; 19, 20, 27 and 30 and Sectors 36, 37, 41 and 42. Since the company failed to submit the planning of these roundabouts within the specified two months, the allotment stand cancelled. While the first one has been re-allocated to the Tourism Promotion Society of Chandigarh, which had offered to maintain the same and had even submitted the landscape plan for the same. The other three are yet to be allotted.

The roundabout of Sectors 18, 19, 20 and 21 has now been given to Bharat Petroleum as Assistant Director, Malaria, to whom it was allotted earlier was unable to plan its development even as their plan was sent to the Chief Architect for necessary approval, it is learnt. Jaquar and company has been allotted the rotary of Sector 32, 33, 45, 46.

Gurudev Photo Colour, is also likely to lose the rotary of Sectors 33, 34, 44 and 45 for they have also done nothing for the past six months. The rotary of Sectors 27, 28, 29 and 30 given to Hindustan Times is also likely to be cancelled. The allottment of rotary of Sectors 46, 48, 51 has been cancelled and the same has now been given to traffic management services.

While the rotary of Sectors 35, 36 , 42 and 43 has been recently allotted to Sham Group, the small roundabout of Sectors 35/36 has been given to Can Asia Immigration Consultation after contract of Satluj Enterprises was cancelled.

Local Kandhari Beverages has once again expressed a desire to tend a round about even as the one allotted to them ( Sectors 32/33/.45/46) two years back stands cancelled. However, the company officials maintain that the roundabout they were tending to earlier has been razed to make way for traffic lights.

However, the MC has recently offered the sponsorship of as many as eight rotaries, mostly in the southern sectors, to corporate houses including Spice; CII ( Northern Region); Pugmarks; Hot Millions; SAB Infotech and the representatives of the Lions and Rotary Clubs, keeping in view the interest evinced by them to maintain the same. These will be allotted to them once they formally apply on first- come-first-serve basis.