By Manjima Dhakal

Kathmandu, Apr. 7: Many hospitals and institutions have started managing Personal Proactive Equipments (PPEs) on their own after the government imported PPEs failed to meet the demand of all health workers across the country.
Hospitals and institutions have taken initiatives to manage PPEs for the safety of health workers after the PPEs given by the government proved insufficient.
The National Innovation Centre (NIC) founded by Mahabir Pun has started to sew PPEs with a target to support the nation in the time of crisis. Pun informed that till Sunday his Centre had distributed 1,200 PPEs to many health institutions as per their demand.
Likewise, Patan Health Science Academy, Lalitpur has started sewing PPEs required for its heatlh workers. Dr. Bishnu Prasad Sharma, director of the hospital, said it had been preparing about five PPEs per day and till now it had prepared about 200 PPEs.
Similarly, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) has also managed PPEs on its own efforts rather than depending only on the government. Dr Prem Khadka, director of the TUTH, said it had been managing the required PPEs.
Nepali Army is using PPEs from its own stock. Bigyan Dev Pandey, Brigadier General and spokesperson of the Nepal Army (NA), said that the army had about 3,000 sets of PPEs in its stock and it was using them. Pandey informed that the army was yet to receive PPEs from the government.
Although many institutions have been making PPEs and questions are being raised about the quality of the PPEs, hospital operators seem confident about the quality of PPEs as they have been using them.
Dr Khadka, director of the TUTH, said the PPEs they bought were safe and virus protective. “The TUTH brings the PPEs in use only after being sure about their quality,” he added.
Likewise, Dr Sharma, director of the Patan Hospital, said “I don’t know whether the PPEs made by the hospital will meet the standards of the World Health Organisation (WHO) or not. But the hospital is sure that it protects the wearer from water as well as any kind of virus.”
He asked all not to forget the ground reality of the country at a time when the entire world is facing the shortage of medical equipment to battle against the virus.
Like the two directors, Pun is also confident about the PPEs prepared by the Centre. “It may not be prepared from quality raw materials as in other countries but it is virus protective. I started the job with an assumption that it will be very supportive in this critical period,” Pun added.
Krishna Adhikari, registrar of Nepal Medical Council, said the Council was not the body to examine the quality of the PPEs. He also said that there was no mechanism in Nepal to check the quality of the PPEs.
Not for frontline workers
As the PPEs made in Nepal are not getting approval from the WHO, the doctors suggested not using them by the frontline health workers who are directly in touch with the coronavirus patients.
Dr Rabindra Pandey said the virus could enter inside the body even from a small pore made by the needle while sewing the equipment.
“The PPE is a very sensitive thing, and it is not as light as we take it to be. Therefore, PPEs made in Nepal can be used by other health workers, not the frontline health workers who are in direct touch with coronavirus patients.”
Dr Samir Mani Dixit asked to use the PPEs only after checking their quality. He said the PPEs are directly linked with a person’s life. Therefore, he suggested not using PPEs on trial.
Meanwhile, Dr Sarad Onta has appreciated the production of the PPEs in this period of crisis. However, Dr Onta also stressed on quality assurance of the product.
Onta demanded for formation of an authentic body for the approval of the PPEs prepared in Nepal.
Ventilators repaired
Along with making PPEs, the National Innovation Centre has been repairing damaged ventilators of different hospitals and keeping them in right condition. According to Pun, they repaired some ventilators of the Trauma Centre and Teaching Hospital. They have received the demands for repaired and new ventilators from many hospitals.
After receiving the demand for ventilators, the Center is also planning to make some new ventilators while repairing the damaged ones.
Likewise, the Center has also started making the coronavirus treatment booths for the treatment of COVID-19 cases. Pun added one booth would be established at Bir Hospital and another at Patan Hospsital soon.