10 emergency surgeries a month currently due to lack of ventilators, down from average of 20-25 previously.Only one out of 15 ventilators is currently functional in the neurosurgery department of the Delhi government’s 2,153-bed Lok Nayak Hospital, the largest such facility in the National Capital, official records reviewed by The Indian Express show.Weekly status reports maintained by the hospital show there were 14 ventilators in the department till Tuesday — none of them was functional. One functional ventilator was added on Wednesday.According to records, ten of these ventilators have been non-functional for eight months, two for about a year and two more for over two years. In 12 of these ventilators, “multiple spares are defective” and need to be “replaced as per service report”. The two ventilators that have been non-functional for over two years were procured during Covid from the PM CARES Fund.Delhi Health Minister Pankaj Kumar Singh and Lok Nayak Hospital Director B L Chaudhary did not respond to queries from The Indian Express regarding the ventilators.Ventilators are crucial during post-operative care, and in trauma and accident cases, to provide respiratory support to critical patients.Lok Nayak Hospital is among the three Delhi government hospitals that provide 24×7 emergency neurosurgery services. Its neurosurgery department has 86 in-patient beds and provides acute-level care to patients with trauma and pathology of the brain, spine, spinal cord and peripheral neuro injuries.Sources in the department said the lack of ventilators has also led to a drop in the number of surgeries performed each month.Story continues below this adBefore the ventilators stopped working, an average of 30-35 elective surgeries and 20-25 emergency neurosurgeries were conducted in two operation theatres every month, the sources said. “The number has come down to 20 elective and 10 emergency surgeries on average per month… Cases are being prioritised and shortlisted, and those cases where ventilator is not required are preferred,” said a senior doctor.Sources also said that patients who are operated upon in the neurosurgery department and require ventilator support are being shifted to the general surgery department’s ICU, which has 15 ventilator beds. This ICU also accommodates patients who have undergone surgeries in the orthopaedic and medicine departments.Doctors said that in cases where surgeries are conducted, patients are being provided with ambu bags — respiratory devices that have to be compressed manually and are used for short-term respiratory support in emergencies.In January last year, a man died after he was not given a ventilator bed and ICU care at Lok Nayak Hospital. The 47-year-old, who was an accused in a police case, was taken by Delhi Police to two other government hospitals in an ambulance. As CT scan was unavailable in those facilities, he was referred to Lok Nayak Hospital, police said. “However, because of the unavailability of ICU ventilator beds, he could not be admitted there either,” the then DCP (Northeast) Joy Tirkey had said at the time.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:healthcareLok Nayak Hospital