PMO directs health ministry to provide 150 ventilators to ITBP-run Covid facility

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 1

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has directed the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoH&FW) to provide and install 150 ventilators at the ITBP-run Sardar Patel Covid Care Centre (SPCCC) in the national capital’s Chhatarpur area.

In this regard Adviser to the Prime Minister Bhaskar Khulbe today wrote a letter to Joint Secretary in the MoH&FW Mandeep Bhandari asking him to provide 150 ventilators for the critical care of COVID-19 patients admitted to the SPCCC.

Incidentally, the PMO intervention came after a request made by Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Director General SS Deswal seeking allocation of 150 ventilators for addressing the needs of critical patients admitted to the SPCCC.

In his letter to the joint secretary, Khulbe said, “As discussed with you, 150 ventilators provided under PM CARES Trust Fund, and embedded with GPS enabled devices, may be provided from the available stock on loan basis for a period of six months now, which if necessary, may be extended further on review.”

“I also request you to organise immediate installation of these ventilators by the selected vendor(s). Simultaneously, please advise the SPCCC for the site preparation,” he added.

The Adviser in the PMO has also asked the MoH&FW official for organising necessary training for use of these ventilators and this could be done by the selected vendors.

In view of the alarming number of COVID-19 positive cases in Delhi, the SPCCC was reopened on April 26 with 500 bed facilities but no arrangements were made for treating the critical patients.