8 civil hospitals, zero ventilator in Fatehgarh

Surinder Bhardwaj

Fatehgarh Sahib, April 26

While Fatehgarh Sahib has three MLAs and a doctor MP from the ruling party, none of the eight civil hospitals in the district is equipped with a ventilator to cater to the urgent needs of Covid and other critically ill patients.

With the state reeling under crisis, doctors in the district are helpless in treating emergency cases and are forced to refer them to Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, or the PGI, Chandigarh. Some even die on their way.

Dr Baljeet Kaur, Civil Surgeon, Fatehgarh Sahib, said the district had eight hospitals with capacity of 300 beds. There were 112 isolation wards for level two Covid patients.

Will get two soon

I have spoken to Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, who has promised to provide two ventilators at the earliest. — Amrit Kaur Gill, DC

As none of the hospitals has a ventilator, seriously ill patients were referred to hospitals outside of the district. She said they had written to the Health Department to provide ventilators, but were awaiting response. Three advanced life support system machines donated by NGOs had been installed in ambulances, she said.

Dr Kuldeep Singh, SMO, Civil Hospital, said being a district headquarter facility, it direly needed a ventilator. The hospital had five anaesthesia specialists and MD doctors to operate ventilators and platforms had been constructed for two machines. There was no shortage of oxygen, he said.