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Bombay HC slams Centre’s affidavit defending faulty PMCARES Fund ventilators

Fri, 28 May 2021 13:25:51 +0000

Image Courtesy:livelaw.in

The Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) pulled up the Modi Government for defending defective ventilator manufacturer, Jyoti CNC, and for claiming that the doctors and paramedics are not properly trained to operate them.

According to a LiveLaw report, Justices Ravindra Ghuge and BU Debadwar said that the Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, G.K. Pillai, who filed the affidavit, should have avoided playing the “blame game” and shown sensitivity towards Covid-19 patients.

During the last hearing on May 25, the Bench had observed, “We find a serious issue before us as regards the defective functioning of the ventilators. Except the 37 ventilators which are yet to be un-boxed, 113 ventilators put to use are found to be defective…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.”

Today, the Central Government reportedly submitted that the 150 ventilators in question were supplied through “Make-in-India and not through the PMCARES Fund.” To this, the court remarked, “We would have appreciated, had that affiant (author of the affidavit) avoided entering into a blame game and would have shown sensitivity towards the patients, it being the paramount object of a welfare state to take care of the health of its citizens.”

The Division Bench further asked the Health Ministry to respect the reports from medical experts, which claimed the ventilators were defective, and concentrate on rectifying it. LiveLaw quoted it saying, “We will also appreciate if the MOHFW refrains from questioning the reports of medical experts and respect such reports in the larger interest of society, rectifying the said machines. We are unable to accept the contentions of the ASGI that the ventilators are in perfect operating conditions, and it is the hospitals who do not have trained personnel to operate them properly. The affidavit before us has a semblance of virtually defending the manufacturer and declaring the ventilators are in immaculate condition.”

Further slamming the Centre’s affidavit, the Bench opined, “We find such statements to be demonstrating insensitivity on the part of MOHFW. Instead of expressing wholehearted support to ensure that such machines are put to optimum utilization in the interest of the lives of the patients, it appears that the affiant found it advantageous to contend that there is no merit in the report of the dean of the Government Medical College (GMCH)”.

The Bench then asked the Additional Solicitor General of India, Ajay Talhar, to take further instructions on a fresh report submitted by the GMCH. The report listed reasons to conclude that the ventilators are unsafe for patient’s use, and it was decided not to test any of these machines on patients.

The Additional Solicitor General then apprised the Aurangabad Bench that the Central government would take remedial steps and ensure the ventilators would operate adequately and all defects, if any, would be removed. The matter will be heard on June 2, 2021.

On May 25, the court had also taken note of some news reports where politicians started visiting Hospitals to find out about the ventilators and some, without having the expertise, just declared that all the ventilators are in good working conditions. Some also said that the ventilators have been lying idle, so they have become dysfunctional.

The court had taken a dim view of this and said, “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 it if political colour is not attached to this issue of dysfunctional ventilators.”

The order dated May 25 may be read here:

The order may be read here:

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113 faulty ventilators provided under PM CARES fund: Bom HC questions Centre

Wed, 26 May 2021 05:10:09 +0000

Image Courtesy:timesnownews.com

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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