Bengaluru requires 4,500 ICU beds to handle third Covid wave

The BBMP has said the city would require 4,500 ICU beds for the third Covid wave, expected to hit the state by October or November.

The decline in daily cases has meant that the city currently has adequate ICU and ventilator beds.

Till 9 pm on Tuesday, 309 ICU beds were available in the government quota, besides 229 ventilator beds. "We currently have only 1,300 ICU beds in all. We need at least 4,500 beds for the third Covid-19 wave," said Rajendra Cholan, Special Commissioner, Health, BBMP.

On a positive note, nearly 104 makeshift ICU beds out of the 500 the government had set out to create across eight BBMP zones have been set up in three government hospitals in the city and are operational.

Dr P S Harsha, the IPS officer appointed as the nodal officer for ICUs in the BBMP, said: "As many as 24 beds in Jayanagar General, 56 beds in CV Raman General, and 24 beds are operational in the Epidemic Diseases Hospital.

"Setting up of 190 beds at the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases, 58 beds in KR Puram General Hospital and 17 beds in Yelahanka General Hospital is underway," he said.

Also read: Bengaluru reports less than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases for first time in 2 months

Harsha, currently the Commissioner of Information and Public Relations in the state, added that IT major Infosys is also providing equipment for adding beds in the Anekal General Hospital.

“Outreach is underway for another 400 beds in medical facilities like HMT Hospital, Taluk Hospital, Doddaballapur, Devanahalli and Nelamangala, and ESI hospitals in Indiranagar, Peenya and Rajajinagar," Harsha said.

One aspect of concern is that the pediatric beds make up for only 10% or 15% of the total beds available for Covid in the city, Cholan said.

Scene across state

Data compiled by the state Health Department on pediatric infrastructure has revealed inadequacies in pediatric and neonatal ICU beds and ward beds.

Bengaluru Rural district, for instance, has zero beds or pediatric experts in government hospitals and is dependent on private medical colleges.

While Chikkaballapur has zero government pediatric ward beds, Ramanagar, Bidar, Vijayapura, Chamarajanagar, Chikmagalur, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Gadag, Kodagu, Kolar, Mandya, Tumakuru and Udupi have pediatric ICU beds in single digits.

Haveri, in fact, is one of 15 districts in Karnataka with zero neonatal ICU beds in government hospitals.

"The process of ramping up pediatric infrastructure in the state is underway," said Dr Omprakash Patil, Director, Department of Health and Family Welfare.