Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today pulled up Health Minister Satyendar Jain over reports of shortage of ventilators at Delhi government-run hospitals in the national capital.
A peeved Kejriwal reacted on Twitter following media reports claiming Ambu-bags (manual hand-held devices which support breathing) being used to resuscitate patients due to an “acute shortage” of ventilators at hospitals.
“Satinder, this is unacceptable (sic),” he tweeted.
Satinder, this is unacceptable https://t.co/E2cT4Y2i9N
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 11, 2016
The Federation of Resident Doctor’s Association of Delhi (FORDA) claimed that they had raised the issue of shortage of critical care facilities, including ventilators, several times with the Delhi government but nothing was done.
FORDA president Dr Pankaj Solanki said, “Health Minister Satyendar Jain has been told about this many times.”
He mentioned that in June 2015, after resident doctors went on a strike demanding better facilities, Jain had sought three months’ time to provide ventilators, consumables and drugs but claimed no action was taken.
Jain, for his part, tweeted saying that the health secretary had allegedly refused to accompany him to go to the hospital citing unavailability of a car.
There is a death in LNH due to negligence.I requested Sec health to reach Hospital with me.He refused to come saying unavailability of car.
— Satyendar Jain (@SatyendarJain) December 11, 2016
Jain later visited the hospital by himself to review the situation.
Health Minister @SatyendarJain reached Lok Nayak Hospital to review services pic.twitter.com/nxOkHgMmnZ
— iDeco | सुनिल चांदेकर ?? (@decosunil) December 11, 2016
Kejriwal responded asking Jain to speak to the IAS officer in question as to why he could not hire a cab or an auto.
He wrote, “Ask him why can’t he call a taxi? Or an auto?”
Ask him why can't he call a taxi? Or an auto? https://t.co/lh695Dt99A
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 11, 2016
Jain said that the LG, Najeeb Jung had appointed the ‘most inefficient’ IAS officer as the health secretary in the Delhi government.
Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Delhi Medical Council have condemned the shortage of critical care facilities in hospitals and demanded immediate steps be taken to improve the situation.
Ambu-bag is a manual, handheld resuscitation device, which attendants are asked to keep pressing 16 to 18 times per minute to move air into and out of lungs of patients who cannot breathe on their own.
(With PTI inputs)