Government launches new support unit to monitor patients in ICUs

The state government on Wednesday launched a new Critical Care Support Unit to monitor the progress of Covid-19 patients in Intensive Care Units (ICUs).

Commissioner of the Health and Family Welfare Department Pankaj Pandey said that the unit would help monitor data on Covid-19 patients ICUs, which would help address shortfalls in treatment.

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“As and when the ICU preparedness of a designated hospital is uploaded in the e-health platform, it will be certified by a medical officer. Details of ICU patients, including their treatment methodology, are then uploaded. Data is monitored and analysed by experts. The nodal officer is intimated on deviations, so that the data can be compiled and reported to a task force of experts on a daily basis. This data is of immense help as it allows us to take precautionary measures to avoid escalations,” Pandey said.

Dr K Sudhakar, Minister for Medical Education, described the system as the first in the country, and said it would link the ICUs of various hospitals treating Covid-19 patients to a single platform.

Read: Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases, deaths

“The unit will allow health officials to capture the details of ICU Covid-19 patients in real time,” he said.

It will be monitored by a centralized team of doctors from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, staff of medical colleges and interns from KIMS, M S Ramaiah Hospital and Dr B R Ambedkar Medical College. Teams are to work round the clock in three shifts.

Action plan

According to an official, at the end of each day, the Critical Care Support Unit will review the progress and implementation of the action plan and share it with higher authorities for further action.

“This unit will also hand-hold doctors from other districts who may not have access to new technologies and will be of immense value in saving lives,” the official said.