Shortage of technicians hits usage of ventilators | Economic Times

A shortage of intensivists, paramedics, respiratory technicians and accessories has hit the usage of ventilators manufactured by Indian companies to treat Covid-19 patients.The shortage comes as the requirement of ventilators rises, with the pandemic headed to its second peak. At least 20,000 ventilators are lying in warehouses or are getting installed only now, manufacturers said.In the first wave, the number of daily cases peaked at about 98,000 in mid-September. That figure surged to over 295,000 in the current wave, according to health ministry data on Wednesday morning.The need for ventilators will only increase as the number of patients getting admitted and staying longer in hospitals has risen, said Ashok Patel, CEO of Max Ventilators.“We are now matching availability of equipment with staff by redistributing them to hospitals with trained personnel,” said Vishwaprasad Alva, founder of Skanray Technologies, a Mysore-based maker of medical equipment including ventilators.When the pandemic broke out last year, demand for ventilators outstripped supply and companies such as the Tatas, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki stepped in to make them at the behest of the government.M&M had tied up with Skanray Technologies and Maruti Suzuki formed a partnership with AgVa Healthcare to scale up the production of ventilators.However, they halted production, citing a mismatch in demand.The Tata group and M&M did not comment.The government has not procured the ventilators ordered from the industry, Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava said.Mahindra was ready with a prototype, called an Ambu Bag respirator, but did not get approvals, people aware of the matter said.Last year, only 0.5% to 1% of Covid-19 patients required ventilators. There are about 50,000 ventilators in the country compared with a requirement of 95,000-150,000 ventilators, according to estimates by companies.