Chandigarh, Aug. 13 -- Over 60% of ventilators at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, remain non-functional, severely impacting critical care services. Of the 95 ventilators received from the central government during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21, only 35 are currently operational in the hospital's ICUs, while the rest have been left unused and stored away. This lapse poses a significant challenge to patient care in the 1,047-bed facility, which saw these machines fully utilised during the pandemic to support patients struggling to breathe.

The GMCH-32, which serves not only the tricity but also patients from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh, received 95 ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic at an estima...