Thiruvananthapuram, 07 Oct (H.S.): Medical equipment worth around ₹30 crore has become unusable at 12 medical colleges across Kerala, with an expert committee identifying poor maintenance and ageing as major reasons for the damage.

Nearly 200 ventilators are among approximately 300 pieces of damaged equipment listed in a report submitted by the Director of Medical Education to the Health Principal Secretary. The assessment covers only equipment costing more than ₹3 lakh apiece.

The financial loss could increase once inspections at district hospitals and primary health centres are completed. There are also reports of equipment supplied to certain institutions under the Directorate of Health Services remaining unopened in its original packaging.

Much of the damaged equipment was procured with central assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, when hospitals expanded emergency treatment facilities and established special wards to cope with the surge in patients.

At Kottayam Medical College, 41 ventilators purchased for these facilities have become unusable. Each machine cost between ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh. The ventilators were not repaired, leaving them unavailable for patient care despite the substantial investment in their purchase.

The committee also flagged damage to expensive microscopes at several medical colleges. Mould has affected some of these instruments, including machines costing close to ₹1 crore each.

Repair efforts have been hampered by the unavailability of spare parts, further complicating attempts to restore the equipment to working condition.

However, the precise financial loss remains to be established. A detailed audit by a biomedical team is required to determine the extent of the damage, and the committee has recommended that the exercise begin soon.

Constituted in July, the committee was tasked with examining equipment purchased by hospitals across Kerala during the past decade. Its findings point to maintenance failures affecting costly machines acquired to strengthen treatment facilities, while the assessment of other institutions remains pending.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman