By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, July 9: Following the increase in COVID-19 cases after the relaxation of prohibitory order in various districts across the nation, the government is working in full swing to ensure availability of ventilators.
Dr. Krishna Prasad Poudel, spokesperson at the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), said, “As the demand for ventilators has increased from the past few days, the ministry has managed area-based supply of ventilators and increased human resources to facilitate easy operation of the ventilators.”
“Prior to this, even though ventilators were available in a few hospitals, they could not come into operation due to the lack of human resources,” he added.
According to Dr. Poudel, currently there are 1,233 ventilators nationwide. The government had added 600 ventilators last year itself.
“Considering that the number of ventilators they might not be enough for the treatment of COVID-19 patients if the cases spike again, the MoHP is underway to procure 180 more ventilators,” informed Dr. Poudel.
He added that the ministry was working by all its means to provide quality treatment to the virus-infected patients in time.
“Currently, we are collecting data from hospitals across the nation to distribute the ventilators accordingly,” he added.
According to the MoHP, Gandaki Province has 542 sets of ventilators, which is the highest of all provinces. There are a total of 201 ventilators in government, community, private hospitals, and medical colleges.
Ventilators in Kathmandu Valley
As informed by the Health Ministry, there are 31 ventilators in TU Teaching Hospital, 20 in Nepal Police Hospital, 25 in Kathmandu Medical College, 22 in Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, nine in Armed Police Force (APF) Hospital, eight in Birendra Sainik Hospital, 10 in Bir Hospital, 12 in Manmohan Hospital and eight are in Dhulikhel Hospital.
200 sets received under donation
After experiencing a shortage of ventilators, the government had requested various donor agencies to provide ventilators when the daily infection rate of COVID-19 was at a peak during the second wave.
According to the MoHP, 200 ventilators were donated to the nation by various agencies during the pandemic. Of them, 46 were donated by Germany, 40 by the Embassy of Switzerland, 20 by T-Pride PTE Limited, 15 by the Spanish government, 14 by France, five by Tibet of China, and one set each by Standard Chartered Bank and One Heart World-Wide.
Similarly, 58 sets of ventilators provided by Israel arrived in Nepal on Thursday itself.
“Apart from 180 ventilators to be procured this year, currently there are 1,233 ventilator sets in Nepal including those received as donations,” the MoHP informed.
According to Dr. Poudel, the ventilators available at district hospitals were not used due to the absence of competent technicians. “Thus, we are making efforts to frame plans to employ health professionals in the respective hospitals to ensure operation of those ventilators,” said Dr. Poudel.
“The ministry is working round the clock to control the spread of the virus and overcome unavailability of hospital beds, ICUs and ventilators for the treatment of infected patients,” said Dr. Poudel, adding, “Thus, preparations are being made to frame a directive to strengthen managerial and supply side of ventilators and human resources.”