Srinagar: The severe shortage of ventilators at Kashmir’s Super Speciality Hospital in Srinagar has left patients struggling, with several high-risk cases asked to defer surgeries due to unavailability of ventilators.
In the past month, many patients prepared for their scheduled surgeries and arrived at the hospital on the appointed date, only to be told at the last minute that their surgeries could not be performed because the ICU was occupied and ventilators were unavailable.
“We have been coming here since yesterday. Twice, we were told ventilators are available, but when we arrived, the OPD was full. After a while, they said, ‘Wait, if a ventilator becomes available, you will get your turn.’ We came at 7 a.m., but by 3 p.m., they were still telling us there were no ventilators available,” said a patient hailing from central Kashmir. “I am just a single patient, and at this speciality hospital—especially for critical patients—those who need ventilators should be given priority. But ventilators are still not available.”
Another aggrieved patient said he visited the hospital four times in the last 15 days, and every time he was told to come back tomorrow or the day after.
“How can one predict when someone will need a ventilator in an emergency? The hospital reportedly has only four ventilators. When we went in the morning, as soon as we mentioned the ventilator, we were told it wasn’t available. At the very least, the administration should be informed of this situation,” he said.
Dr Rubina Shaheen, Medical Superintendent of the Super Speciality Hospital said that for serious emergencies, the hospital never refuses ventilator support. “In all emergencies, ventilator support is provided when needed. However, for elective surgeries, we have to schedule based on ventilator availability, which can only be confirmed either in the evening for the next day or in the morning itself,” she said.
Sometimes, ventilators are simply not available at the required time, and surgeries can only proceed when one becomes available, the MS said. “But not all surgeries require ventilators. Not every patient requires ventilator support—only those who medically need it,” she added.
Dr Shaheen further said that the government is already in the process of procuring more ventilators for the hospital. “The support being provided by the allied SMHS hospital is also proving helpful in more ways than one,” she said—(KNO)
