Chandigarh: “Critical or intensive care is the diagnosis or management of life-threatening health conditions that often require life support systems. Ironically India has 2.3 critical care beds for one lakh patients, which is significantly lower than western countries.”
Dr. Manish Gupta, head of critical care at Ivy Hospital, said that In India five million critical patients require ICU care but only 95,000 ICU beds are available.
Dr. Gupreet Singh Gill senior consultant anesthesia said, “For many, ICUs seems like a place that admits patients of poly-trauma (accidents) mostly, but given the rising incidents of new age infections & life style diseases, tropical infections like dengue, chikungunya, swine flu, pneumonia asthma, COPD, kidney failure, multi-organs failure, liver failure, stroke, CKD, respiratory distress coupled with rising burden of geriatric population, the ICU are in demand more than ever.”
Outlining the need for more ICU beds, Dr. Sonia Saini senior consultant anesthesia said,”There appears a strong need to increase the ICU beds to at least 10% of total beds in all hospitals and even up to 15-20% in some leading public as well as private tertiary care centers.”
