Kathmandu, July 20
Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre, popularly known as Gangalal Hospital, says it has been unable to perform surgeries as oxygenator stock has run out.
The hospital says only emergency surgeries are conducted unless the next batch of the devices is supplied. The hospital is saving some of them for emergency operations, according to the hospital chief Dr Chandra Mani Adhikari.
“This is not only the case of Gangalal Hospital, many other hospitals in Nepal have stopped the operations,” Adhikari says, “There is a shortage of the devices in Nepal and India.”
One surgery needs one oxygenator and it costs as much as Rs 50,000. There are different oxygenators for children and adults. While the stock for adults has run out, there are 150 units remaining for the children, according to Adhikari.
“We had ordered the next batch four months ago, but a global shortage resulted in this situation,” Adhikari says, “I could not bring them from my level. Maybe, the Health Ministry or other renowned doctors could make efforts for an early supply.”
One of the biggest heart treatment centres in Nepal, the hospital performs six to eight surgeries every day.
