6 ventilator beds lie unused at Bihar government hospital in Araria

Six ventilator beds were found unused at a government hospital in Bihar’s Araria district on Monday when the entire country is reeling under the enormous pressure of the Covid-19 second wave. The ventilators were provided to the Araria civil hospital 8 months back under the PM CARES funds.

India Today team reached the hospital to continue its coverage of highlighting how resources at various government hospitals in Bihar were being wasted.

On reaching the civil hospital, the team of reporters inquired about the ventilators with the health manager who took them to the ICU on the third floor.

The ICU room was locked when India Today reached the spot. But, the health manager accepted the request to open it.

Like the case in Supaul’s civil hospital, the six brand new ventilators with bed facilities in Araria were not functional due to lack of manpower.

“We do not have doctors, nurses and require manpower to start the ventilators. We have set up the ventilators in the ICU but it’s not operational because of lack of human resources,” said Dr MP Gupta.

At a time when the entire nation is grappling with a lack of resources in the battle against coronavirus, whether it’s lack of hospital beds, oxygen cylinders or ventilators, wastage of medical equipment in Bihar has been a major hindrance in the fight against the pandemic. India Today