An ongoing incident has thrown light on the sorry state of affairs in SMHS hospital, Srinagar after a swine flu patient was on the verge of dying because of no ventilator support in an isolation ward.
While this hospital lacks equipment, a four-bedded isolation ward equipped with ventilators and other critical equipment is lying unused at the Chest Diseases (CD) Hospital in the city under GMC Srinagar because of no trained medical staff to use it.
Greater Kashmir reported that at SHMS Hospital, authorities have isolated a four-bedded ward for H1N1 and other influenza cases where three patients had been admitted on Thursday. Two of them are battling for life.
The isolation ward can manage only ‘isolation’ without any life-support machines because of their slots.
The absence of ventilators was proving costly for the critically sick swine flu patients, the doctor said.
They are dying. Their life perhaps could be saved if they had ventilator support well in time.
One of the patients had been kept on a basic device used to help with breathing, called Ambu Bag, and when was only shifted to a medican ICU ventilator when it fell vacant after three days.
"However, another patient," another doctor said, "is still without any life support despite clear indication."
Principal GMC Srinagar, Prof Samia Rashid admitted that the CD Hospital ICU for H1N1 was not functional due to shortage of staff.
"When that facility was commissioned, no simultaneous staff creation was made to run it," Prof Rashid said.
He also added that staff would be arranged internally by 14 January.
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