ICU bed shortage puts patients at risk in Kashmir hospitals

Srinagar: In Srinagar and its surrounding districts, a pressing healthcare crisis is unfolding as hospitals grapple with a severe shortage of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds.

Despite the rising number of critical patients in need of intensive medical care, many healthcare facilities, including the prestigious Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital have failed to increase their ICU bed capacity, putting countless lives at risk.

Official data reveals that SMHS Hospital has only 17 ICU beds spread across three units: Medical ICU, Surgical ICU, and PICU.

Furthermore, Superspeciality Hospital at Shreen Bagh has only one ICU with a capacity of seven beds.

A senior official in the Health Department said that the lack of ICU beds is a grave concern in city hospitals where people die due to a dearth of ventilators and beds.

“Patients who would typically have access to life-saving treatments are now faced with uncertainty and delays, putting their lives at risk,” he said.

A senior official said that ideally, hospitals should allocate 20 percent of their beds for ICU purposes.

“At SMHS Hospital which has over 700 beds, at least 140 beds should be ICU beds. Besides, reserve beds should be available for the overflow of patients,” he said.

A senior official also stressed the need for dedicated disaster ICUs in every hospital.

Despite the surge in critical patients, many of whom require intensive medical care, the hospital authorities do not increase the bed capacity, posing a threat to the lives of the people.

Recently, a patient from Srinagar downtown, who was suffering from hypoxia, had to be placed in the Triage Room at SMHS Hospital as no ICU bed was available.

The patient’s daughter shared her distressing experience, saying, “My mother had two heart attacks after a stent procedure in February this year. Her blood pressure spiked, and she was on the brink of death. Due to the lack of immediate availability, her treatment was delayed, and she was intubated in the Triage room. She desperately needed an ICU bed at SMHS, but despite our pleas, we couldn’t secure one.”

After persistent efforts, a compassionate female doctor assisted them in securing an ICU bed at Superspeciality Shreen Bagh Hospital where Khalida’s condition stabilised.

Khalida’s case is not unique, as numerous patients requiring ICU beds face similar struggles, and some even succumb due to the unavailability of ventilators.

Medical Superintendent of SMHS Hospital, Dr Muzaffar Zargar told Greater Kashmir that they had three ICUs at the hospital.

“We have beds in ICUs as per our available manpower. If we increase the bed capacity, then we need to first hire the staff. Each bed with a ventilator needs a separate medical staff,” he said.

Dr Zargar said that the hospital was coping nicely with the emergencies and ICUs.

Secretary of Health and Medical Education, Bhupinder Kumar told Greater Kashmir that the government had established the GMCs and was upgrading the facilities as well.

“There will be upgradation of hospitals at the district level as well so that patient flow in the city hospitals also decreases,” he said.

Kumar said that cardiovascular diseases were killing people not only in Jammu and Kashmir but across the country.

“We have started screening people for cardiovascular diseases. We are detecting the reasons. There are different reasons like hypertension and other problems. We are screening and detecting. Some people need treatment at the district hospital level and some need tertiary care,” he said.

Not only SMHS but many hospitals in Srinagar and nearby districts lack sufficient ICU beds, forcing them to transfer critically ill patients to tertiary hospitals.

This transfer of patients often results in precious time being lost in transit, and in some cases, it proves to be fatal.