April 3rd,2020

Topic:- Medical Infrastructure

Punjab is staring at the ghastly scenario, wherein it will face an acute shortage of ventilators in case of a full-blown up COVID epidemic. In extreme cases of COVID, ventilators become a necessity for the survival of patients.
In Gurdaspur district, no government hospital has such a machine and if an outbreak actually occurs, patients will be at the mercy of private hospitals.
The condition of Gurdaspur district is symptomatic of the entire state where, according to a conservative estimate, just 150-200 ventilators are in operation. Doctors say if Punjab faces the worst-case scenario, thousands will be needed and even these may well fall short.

If things get worse hundreds could show up at hospitals in the need to be hooked up to machines. “The problem is that there will not be enough ventilators for everyone, forcing doctors to make impossible calls about which lives to save and which not to.

Experts say even if there are enough such machines, they will be left grappling with yet another problem: Whom to put on them and whom to turn away.
“A ventilator could well mean the difference between life and death for patients. But where are they in the first place? COVID is sure to shred to smithereens the tall claims made by successive State and Union government from the time about providing top-class healthcare facilities to its citizens,” maintained a Gurdaspur based doctor not willing to be quoted.

(Source:- The Tribune)