Human Rights panel takes suo motu cognisance of non-functional ventilators at SAT Hospital
Thiruvananthapuram: Taking suo motu cognisance of complaints regarding non-functional ventilators, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed the Kerala government's Director of Medical Education (DME) to immediately look into a complaint alleging that 11 ventilators at the Sree Avittom Thirunal (SAT) hospital in Thiruvananthapuram are not functioning.
The direction was issued by State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) chairperson Justice Alexander Thomas after the panel registered a case on its own initiative, based on a newspaper report claiming that the ventilators were not working.
The commission directed that a senior officer not below the rank of Deputy Director of Medical Education be appointed to investigate. It also directed that the ventilators in the pediatric surgery and neonatal departments should be checked separately to see if they are working. If the ventilators are not working, steps should be taken to fix the faults and make them functional, the commission said. It also directed that steps should be taken to replace the ventilators, if required.
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The panel further directed that the investigation report should be submitted within a month. The SAT Hospital Superintendent was also directed to submit a separate report within a month.
Justice Alexander Thomas also asked the Additional Chief Secretary of the Health Department to conduct an inquiry into the complaint that the ventilators were not functional and submit a report within a month. The commission also ordered that the steps taken to procure new ventilators should be included in the report.
The commission asked the Deputy DME, a representative of the SAT Hospital Superintendent, and the Under Secretary of the Health Department to be present in person at the sitting to be held in December.
However, the hospital authorities denied the allegations and told TOI that reports highlighting only the old or under-repair ventilators are misleading. They said SAT Hospital has enough working ventilators for all patients. More than 50 ventilators are currently in good condition and working properly.
According to the hospital, the number of ventilators is more than what is needed, even for children in different ICUs. No patient has been denied treatment due to a shortage of ventilators. The officials added that the news focusing on non-functional ventilators is creating unnecessary fear among people who trust the hospital, including those coming from faraway areas.
They explained that over 50 ventilators are distributed across ICUs such as paediatric, newborn, cardiology, paediatric surgery, and maternal care units. Usually, only 35 to 40 ventilators are used at a time, while more than 10 are kept as backup. Most of these ventilators were purchased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
