Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 5: The battle against swine flu in the state has been hampered with Capital Hospital not having staff to run the lone ventilator machine in the swine flu ward there.
The health department had established special isolation wards for swine flu victims at the three medical colleges, the Indira Gandhi Hospital in Rourkela and Capital Hospital. These have also acted as referral institutions for swine flu cases.
This has come in the wake of people testing positive for H1N1 over three successive days.
However, the isolation ward at Capital Hospital, which has a capacity to accommodate 10 patients at time, has only one ventilator machine. Moreover, the hospital administration has yet to appoint any paramedic staff to run the machine.
Usually the ventilator machines have been installed in places such as intensive care units (ICU) and special wards where the chance of patients being in a critical condition is high. “The ventilator machines work like a boon for the patients in critical condition as it provides support to the respiratory system. The machine has the capacity to keep a dying person alive for months as happens in the cases of patients in coma,” said a paramedic staff here.
“We have already written to the authorities to provide paramedical staff to run the ventilator machine installed at our swine flu ward. The problem will be resolved soon,” said BB Patnaik, director Capital Hospital.
Moreover, the 10-bed isolation ward has only one ventilator machine while the 16-beded ICU in the hospital has eight ventilator machines.
