A 28-year-old man's family endured an 18-hour ordeal manually pumping a rubber bag resuscitator while traveling 110 kilometers in search of a ventilator, exposing severe gaps in the healthcare system. The patient, Manpreet, was assaulted with a sickle on May 1 in Samrala, Punjab, and initially taken to a private hospital in Ludhiana where he was intubated before being transferred to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Chandigarh.
Nightmare Begins at GMCH
Upon arrival at GMCH around 1 a.m., the family was informed that no ventilator-equipped bed was available. Within an hour, the patient was shifted to Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGI), where bureaucratic hurdles emerged. No coordinating doctor was present to take over the critical case, leaving the family to manually pump the ambu bag for three hours while waiting for a bed. Doctors at the emergency department allegedly advised them to take Manpreet back, as no bed was expected to become available soon.
Desperate Search Continues
The family left PGI and rushed back to GMCH at 6 a.m., with Manpreet now in respiratory distress. His condition had visibly deteriorated during the journey. However, GMCH turned them away again, sending them back to PGI. It was only on Saturday afternoon, following intervention by The Times of India, that a ventilator was finally secured and the patient moved to the intensive care unit.
Authorities Respond
The case has shaken authorities. GMCH Director Principal Dr. Ravneet Kaur told TOI that the hospital would procure more ventilators. PGI Director Prof. Vivek Lal promised to implement "man-to-man mapping" to ensure doctors personally coordinate during critical referrals. Local neurosurgeons have suggested creating a real-time centralized pool of all public and private ICU beds in the city to prevent such distressing incidents in the future. Whether this wake-up call will prompt effective action remains to be seen.
