KARACHI, May 23: There are only 150 ventilators in government and private hospitals in the city, according to healthcare experts, who said that Karachi, with a population of around 18 million people, requires a minimum of 2,000 to 2,500 ventilators.

A medical ventilator is a device designed to provide mechanical ventilation to a patient. Ventilators are chiefly used in intensive care units, home care, and in emergencies.

A dire need for ventilators was felt during the May 12 violence in Karachi, when hundreds of people were rushed to hospitals for medical treatment.“Patients with an emergency need to be put on a ventilator at least for 24-48 hours,” Dr Qaiser Sajjad, PMA Karachi General Secretary, told PPI.

He said that only because of a shortage of these machines some causalities occurred, which otherwise could have been avoided.

The situation is particularly serious for newborns with respiratory complications. Paediatricians believe that prolonged labour or delayed delivery affects the respiratory centre in the brain and the infant can’t breathe normally. Such a baby should immediately be put on a ventilator. However, owing to the limited number or even lack of ventilators in many hospitals, these infants’ lives are in danger.

Some hospitals claiming to have the facility reportedly charge patients without actually using the ventilator, while some others which have ventilators lack the back-up support, said Dr Sajjad.

This is more common in public sector institutions where ventilators are often out of order due to a lack of maintenance, and the lack of required support such as oxygen supplies and monitoring equipment, including cardiac monitors. A dearth of trained staff, technicians and doctors to operate ventilators is also a major issue in the ICUs of hospitals.

Although 10 new ventilators have been placed in Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, more are needed as the hospital caters to the needs of a large population. The number of ventilators in Civil Hospital and JPMC is also very little as compared to the number of patients.—PPI