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The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has directed the Centre to respond with remedial steps as at least 113 out of 150 ventilators supplied through the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PMCARES) Fund were found to be non-functional. The court has considered this to be a serious issue, as the ventilators distributed to various hospitals, including private and government hospitals, came up with similar issues. Six sets of flaws were detected in these ventilators. The court has sought a response from the Centre by May 28.
The bench of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge and BU Debadwar was hearing its suo moto public interest litigation. During the hearing, the court was informed that the Government Medical College and Hospital, Aurangabad had received 150 ventilators through the PMCARES Fund out of which at least 113 were found to be defective. A company by the name of Jyoti CNC has manufactured the said 150 ventilators with the model name ‘Dhaman III’.
Some of the faults found in these ventilators include ‘no in-let O2 pressure’ display and ‘patient becoming hypoxic’ when on ventilator. The court was also informed that the private hospitals which were given 41 ventilators indicated that all of them were non-functional and declined to use them as it could be life threatening for patients. The Dean of government hospital, Ambajogai, also informed the court that none of the ventilators given to them were worthy of being put to use.
On the other hand, the court was informed that 64 ventilators supplied by several Industrial Establishments like Good Year Tyres, Cosmo Films, Bajaj Auto limited, Garware Polyester limited, Hindalco limited are perfectly operational.
Upon these submissions, the bench directed the Assistant Solicitor General, Ajay G. Talhar, appearing for the Centre to inform the court what remedial steps will the central government take in this matter on May 28.
“We find the above situation as regards the dysfunctional ventilators supplied through the PM Cares Fund, to be quite serious. We, therefore, call upon the learned ASGI to state, as to what action would the Union of India initiate in these circumstances,” the court ordered.
LiveLaw reported that the bench orally remarked, “If the PMCARES Fund is to be used for providing ventilators, it should be ventilators worthy of medical use and they are not worthy of medical use, it’s just a box”.
Further, the amicus curiae Adv. Satyajit S. Bora informed the court that some elected representatives have started visiting government hospitals to find out whether these ventilators are in working condition and some of them have declared that they are working and some have stated that as the ventilators were lying idle, they have become dysfunctional. The court expressed its displeasure over such demeanour while mentioning that such visits could cause bother to the medical faculty and staff in the hospitals. The court deemed the statements made by such politicians to be distasteful as they are visiting hospitals posing as they have the expertise to inspect ventilators.
“We express our displeasure as regards such indulgence by the people’s representatives. This is likely to cause more botheration to the medical faculty than render any assistance. Contrary statements are being issued by the politicians which we find distasteful as some politicians have visited the hospital, posing as if they have the knowledge and the expertise to inspect the ventilators and recommend correctional steps. We would appreciate if political colour is not attached to this issue of dysfunctional ventilators,” the court observed.
The matter will be next heard on May 28.
PM CARES and ventilators
This is certainly not the first time that such an issue has cropped up with ventilators supplied by the Centre by using the PMCARES fund. The fund that was under constant public scrutiny for gathering large amounts in money but not having been utilised for Covid relief, was finally put to use but it turns out, the end product is replete with flaws. States like Rajasthan and Punjab have also come forward underscoring the faulty ventilators supplied to them.
Punjab’s Covid-19 response and procurement committee head Dr Raj Bahadur told India Today last week, “The Patiala medical college got 98 ventilators from the PMCARES Fund. Of these, 48 were functional after repair, but they are still not in use because the anaesthetists are not confident as they fear the machines may break down and jeopardise the lives of patients.”
The Punjab government claimed that anaesthetists in its hospitals were not confident of using them even after repairs. Heads of three Punjab government medical colleges claimed that at least 237 of the 320 ventilators received through the PM Cares Fund were defective and non-functional, reported India Today.
In Rajasthan, 592 ventilators could not be utilised as of May 13 and as many as 571 complaints were raised with the manufacturer Bharat Electricals Limited out of which only 180 were resolved. Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot demanded an enquiry into this matter. Jharkhand’s biggest government hospital received 104 ventilators out of which 45 were non-functional.
The Union Health Ministry has denied these issues and claimed that the states mismanaged their utilisation that included keeping the machines unutilised or uninstalled in their stores for almost six months.
The order may be read here:
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