With cases of dengue and H1N1 creeping up, MiD DAY did a quick check around various hospitals and found that nearly all of them were facing the same problem

The next time you visit a hospital with a serious ailment you just might have to wait for an ICU bed.

With unconfirmed reports of dengue and H1N1 creeping up, hospitals across Bangalore report a shortage of ICU beds while the BBMP remainsu00a0mum.

Vishal Goyal, chief operations officer, BGS Global Hospital, said, "We have about 120 ICU beds and they are all spread out to accommodate cardiology, neurology and paediatrics etc.


Victoria Hospital has 10 ICU beds and four beds exclusively for H1N1 patients. All the beds are occupied right now.

Our medical ICU only has 20 beds, which are full right now."

He added, "Cases here range from multi-organ failure and infections, among others. With dengue and H1N1 on the rise, we need more beds so we shift stable patients to accommodate others."

Other hospitals are no different. This reporter went to other major city hospitals, and found that they were struggling with the shortage as well.

"We have 10 medical beds and four beds exclusively for H1N1 which are all occupied.

The problem is that people who are very critical come here because it costs less compared to private hospitals," said BG Tilak, medical superintendent, Victoria Hospital.

He added, "What we do, is tell transferred patients that our priority is patients who first came to Victoria and then deal with the others."

Naresh Shetty, medical superintendent, M S Ramaiah Hospital, said, "We have 100 ICU beds and all are full right now. With H1N1 and dengue cases coming in all the time it's becoming difficult to handle it."

He added, "We follow the BBMPs protocol and keep them informed on a daily basis."

Situation is bed

Philomena Hospital: 70 ICU beds, including 20 paediatric beds. All occupied.

St Johns Hospital: 100 ICU beds, including 70 paediatric beds, are completely occupied.