Ventilator shortfall strains Kashmir hospitals

Srinagar, May 6: Critical care in Kashmir is on a ventilator.

For decades, the number of functional ventilators has struggled to suffice the deployment capacity relative to hospital bed strength.

The inadequate availability of ventilators in Kashmir is costing lives.

Patients who could survive with proper life support are being left without access, as the available life-support system is severely short in strength.

The specialty hospitals in Kashmir – SKIMS Soura, SMHS Hospital, and the Super Specialty Hospital heavily rely on ventilators as the backbone of critical care for trauma, post-surgical recovery, respiratory failure, cardiac events, and complex neurosurgeries.

The Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS 2022) and NABH-aligned norms mandate ICU beds to be 5 to 10 percent of total hospital beds in general tertiary settings.

It must be 8 to 10 percent ideal for high-acuity referral centres.

Ventilators required are roughly one per ICU bed plus 10 to 20 percent reserves for emergencies, OT recovery, and transport as per these standards.

In J&K, some medical norms cited suggest a baseline of 5 ventilators per 100 beds.

When assessed against these standards, the gap in Kashmir’s major hospitals is stark. The functional ventilators fall well short of what bed strength and patient load demand.

Even before providing discounts on the basis of chronic manpower shortages and limited physical ICU space, the sheer deployment is low.

At this Institute which has 1050 beds, at least 50 to 100 functional ventilators must be available.

Only 40 are.

Last week, Director SKIMS , and Ex-Officio Secretary to Government (EOSG) Prof Muhammad Ashraf Ganaie said at least 40 more ICU beds would be added to the institute, one each in a ward.

The move is aimed at providing critical care to more patients, and save more lives.

SKIMS Soura is Kashmir’s apex referral institute as a high-acuity tertiary centre with dedicated cancer, cardiac, neuro, and paediatric ICUs.

A 2025 RTI data revealed gross shortfalls with the Pediatrics and Neonatology Department requires 20 ventilators, while only 10 are functional.

In CVTS there is a shortfall of 12 ventilators while similar shortages persist in Neuro ICU, Cancer Care ICU, and Critical Care Units.

In February 2026 this year, the data revealed in the Legislative Assembly showed 53 total ventilators across SKIMS and associated units.

Of these, only 40 are functional.

A procurement of 150 new ICU beds was announced recently.

However, whether these ICU beds will be deployed or not would depend on much more than mere procurement.

The poor availability of human resource creates hurdles in making ventilators functional and life saving.

At SKIMS, 1222 of 2262 sanctioned posts are vacant.

The nurse-patient ratio in the current staff availability is usually two nurses for 10 ventilators.

At SMHS Hospital, the strength of 1038 beds must have around 100 ventilators.

This is one of the largest general specialty hospital in Kashmir, with 68 working ventilators.

The hospital’s role as the primary and only referral center for emergencies and routine tertiary cases must have been strengthened. However, the hospital operates with just around 17 ICU beds on medical and surgical side combined.

The shortfall of ventilators translates directly to delayed surgeries, prolonged emergency waits, preventable deterioration.

For families, it often means watching the loved ones sink deeper into the non-reversible deterioration, and sometimes even death.

In Kashmir, even with robust public healthcare network, critical care readiness, experts believe, is rudimentary.