The Department of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education in Punjab has issued a directive requiring all medical superintendents (MSs) to activate non-operational ventilators in their respective hospitals within the next 24 hours. This order comes amid growing concerns over the availability of critical care resources in the province’s ICUs.
The Health Department has specifically requested a report from the MSs of six government teaching hospitals within the next 24 hours regarding the operational status of ventilators in their intensive care units (ICUs). The hospitals included in the report are Mayo Hospital Lahore, Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital Sialkot, Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi, General Hospital Lahore, Services Hospital Lahore, and Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology.
A portal, known as the BME (Biomedical Equipment) portal, has been established to assist in the management, development, and procurement of medical equipment in government hospitals. As part of this initiative, all government teaching hospitals are required to register daily data regarding their medical equipment, including ventilators, on the portal.
The directive highlights significant gaps in the availability of functional ventilators across several hospitals. Notably, Mayo Hospital has 42 out of 170 ventilators inoperative, while Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital Sialkot has 25 out of 34 ventilators inactive. Other hospitals, including Holy Family Hospital, General Hospital, Services Hospital, and Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology, also report substantial numbers of non-functional ventilators.
The Chief Operating Officer of Mayo Hospital has been specifically tasked with addressing the issue of the inactive ventilators and providing an update on the situation. The department has emphasized the urgent need for these ventilators to be operational to ensure adequate healthcare support, particularly as the demand for ICU services continues to rise.
