COVID-19: How private hospitals are adding ICU beds in Mumbai

Apart from ramping up procurement what is helping private hospitals in the city improve the count of ICU beds is the resumption of local trains which has enabled more staff to reach hospitals and operationalise ICUs The growing number of COVID19 cases has made ICU indispensable for hospitalsSeveral private hospitals in the city have started increasing the number of ICU beds dedicated to COVID19 patients Within the next week an additional 100 ICU beds will reflect in the civic bodys live dashboard and will be allocated to patients needing critical careDr Gautam Bhansali consultant physician with Bombay Hospital who was recently appointed as the chief coordinator for bed management at private hospitals by the civic chief said that while some hospitals have already allocated additional beds in the last couple of days others are in the process of doing so There was a requirement of beds and after a meeting private hospitals have come forward to increase the number of ICU beds The count of ICU beds has been increased by 50 and over the next week another 50 will be added he said While the BMC earlier had access to 460 ICU beds in all private hospitals in the city Dr Bhansali said that the count will now go up to 570The increase in ICU beds will reflect by the end of this week File picDr Bhansali said that while Bombay Hospital has added 16 ICU beds Lilavati has added 13 and Nanavati has added 11 Other hospitals including Jaslok Hinduja Wockhardt Surana Kokilaben and Hiranandani hospitals are also in the process of getting additional ICU beds functional for COVID19 patientsAfter the streamlining the admission process where ward control rooms allocate beds to patients Dr Bhansali said that the bed management system has improved significantly Earlier only one per cent of ICU beds would be available But now at any given time there are 510 per cent beds available Patients are even given a choice of hospital depending on their convenience and most patients get either their first or second choice he saidPrivate hospitals had earlier stated that due to lack of public transport a significant number of their staff were not able to report to duty After the local trains resumed service recently hospitals have seen an increase in attendance Dr Bhansali said that at Bombay Hospital due to the growing staff attendance they are able to increase the bed capacityAjaykumar Pande vice president of Lilavati hospital however said that the local trains have been helpful but only to an extent Since local trains are now functioning the commuting has been resolved for some staff members However those who need to board a train from railway stations that are part of the slow track are not able to come For that we want to request the government to start a train for all stations only for health workers he said Lilavati Hospital increased its ICU bed count to 48 with 13 additional beds that became available from June 20A spokesperson from P D Hinduja hospital amp MRC told midday We are adhering to and supporting all the norms issued by the BMC The latest increments in the capacity of COVID19 beds and COVID19 ICU beds will be ready by the end of this week While we had arranged buses for our staff coming from different areas With trains having resumed our employees are using those and we are seeing an increase in the number of people reporting to the hospital100No of beds to be added in private hospitals within a week570Total no of beds BMC will have access to after the latest additionNew ICU beds at hospitals Bombay Hospital 16 Lilavati Hospital 13 Nanavati Hospital 11 Jaslok Hospital 12 Hinduja Hospital 10 Wockhardt Hospital 10 Hiranandani Hospital 9 Kokilaben Hospital 10 Surana Sethia Hospital 10Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news