An acute shortage of ventilators at Allied Hospitals in Rawalpindi has multiplied miseries of the patients.
Only 62 ventilators have been provided to the hospitals for a population of over 5 million out of which 10 ventilators are not functioning, often forcing people to move critical patients to private hospitals, which charge high rates.
As many as 40 ventilators are available in the Holy Family Hospital, 19 in Benazir Bhutto Hospital and only three ventilators in the district headquarters hospital Rawalpindi.
About 100,000 patients many of them critical, from Rawalpindi, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and AJK visit these hospitals on a daily basis but have to return due to this shortage. While private hospitals charge Rs8, 000 per day which many cannot afford.
When contacted, the management of the Allied Hospitals said that they try their best to accommodate maximum number of critical patients despite a shortage of ventilators. “The process of purchasing ventilators is under way and the hospital will have more ventilators soon,” the official said requesting anonymity.
