The Government currently needs seven infant and 14 adult ventilators to meet the shortfall in the health care system.
According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Health, there is a need for 66 adult ventilators and 20 infant ones. However there are only 52 adult and 15 children ventilators presently in the system.
Even with this amount being more than 60 per cent of the ventilators required, managing the ones they have is also cause for concern. "The major problem is that of servicing and maintenance of the units," the ministry responses to questions sent by THE STAR said.
THE STAR was unable to find out how exactly the shortage in the machines impacted the provision of health care at the island's hospitals.
Life-saving surgery
However, recently the shortage of the machine delayed life-saving surgery for the first child for celebrity gospel music couple, Ryan Mark Reynolds and wife, Dawnette 'Crissy D' Reynolds.
Ryan Mark said in a previous article published in THE STAR that, after the birth, their baby on January 10, the child was in a fragile condition. He said her spinal cord was not fully developed because she was born premature.
Doctors said they needed a ventilator to help her breathe, however they could not locate one. At the time, Ryan Mark said he was told that there were only four such machines in the island and that there was a list of babies that required the use of them.
After a campaign telling people about his problem, his daughter eventually received the surgery, but died due to complications.
Meanwhile the Ministry provided no idea of what was being done to address the shortfall of ventilators or how to ensure that a more reliable repair system is in place.
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