Over the last few weeks the COVID-19 cases have seen a massive rise in Mumbai creating a crisis situation in the city. As the city continues to deal with the covid sitaution, the waiting period for hospital beds has gone up. Apart from ICU and ventilator beds, patients are also struggling to get oxygen beds. As per data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), only 10 ventilators and 35 ICU beds are vacant as on April 20.
At present, 3,865 beds are available.
According to BMC’s dashboard, beds available are 3,685 out of of the total 21,169 beds. The available ICU beds are 35 out of 2,770 beds, followed by oxygenated beds available are 614 out of 9,960 beds and ventilator beds available are 10 out of1,410 beds, as of Tuesday.
Besids, considering the huge demand for intensive care unit (ICU) and ventilator beds across Covid hospitals in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation now plans to add 200 ICU and 100 ventilators beds in the next two to three days. Officials said most beds are occupied by patients from high-rises, leaving less than one per cent vacant for others.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said daily there were complaints from the ward war room saying every two out of three calls were about ICU beds just because the patients’ doctors asked them to get admitted and said they needed ICUs or ventilators.
Kakani further said the patients need to keep their patience on getting their corona reports, as there are other patients in greater need. “We will be adding more Covid beds depending on the demand. All-out efforts are being made to increase beds, especially in the private sector,” he added.
Health experts said many hospitals are complaining of a shortage of ICU beds. So, on priority, the civic body should increase the number of ICU beds to provide timely treatment to severely ill patients. Major private hospitals like Lilavati, Nanavati, Saifee, Bombay hospitals, among others, have run out of ICU beds, with patients being on waiting lists.
The civic body has urged patients to be admitted to jumbo COVID-19 care centres with the availability of oxygen beds and the regular supervision of doctors. Medical laboratories were also urged to release test reports within 24 hours.
