By Nagendra Kumar Karn, Jaleshwor, Aug. 16: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) equipped with five ventilators in the COVID-19 Special Hospital has remained inoperative due to the lack of the specialist doctors here in Jaleshwor, district headquarters of Mahottari.

The Social Development Ministry of Province 2 has supported in turning the hospital into CORONA Special Hospital by providing with 50 beds in the first phase and then 50 more beds and five ventilators.

Rajiv Kumar Jha, medical superintendent of Jaleshwor Hospital, said, "First, the construction of ICU with ventilators which is a must for critical patient got delayed as we had to announce tender for three times for the construction. Now, the ICU is not under operation because of the lack of the skilled human resource. We have informed the Social Development Ministry of this and even got permission to hire necessary specialists. But still, we could not get application from specialists for ICU with ventilators."

Jha said that they had requested for the specialized medical consultant in the concerned bodies so as to make the ICU operative.

Suresh Pandey, Chairperson of Jaleshwor Hospital Management committee, said, "If the ICU comes into operation then Jaleshwor Hospital would be the first governmental hospital to provide a large number ventilators in State 2.”

There are no other hospitals which has the provision of both ICU and ventilators so the serious COVId-19 patients would be treated here after the operation of the ICU, added Pandey.

All the COVID-19 patients would be treated here as it has both ICU and ventilators which are needed for the serious patients of COVID-19 with low amount of oxygen in body, added Jha.

There are only nine ventilators in governmental hospitals in 3 districts out of 8 districts in the whole of State 2.