Thiruvananthapuram: There has been a severe shortage of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds with ventilator facilities in the Medical Colleges across the state owing to the persisting acute respiratory diseases among the general population.

At the moment, even critically ill patients are forced to wait for hours due to the shortage of ICU beds at the hospitals. Though vacant ICU beds are available in the General and District hospitals, patients are frequently referred to medical colleges due to the shortage of specialized doctors in those facilities. 

Taking the current situation into account, the health department has instructed hospital authorities to refer patients to medical colleges only after ensuring the availability of ICU beds.

Shortage of ventilators

The medical colleges in the state allocate additional beds for medicine and surgery departments. Furthermore, out of the 100 surgeries being performed at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College in a single day, at least in 15 cases, the patients are more or less likely to get shifted to the ventilators. Similarly, the casualty department shifts 15-20 patients to the ICUs.

While there are 195-200 ICU beds with ventilator support in Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam has 140-142 such facilities. Kozhikode has 200 ICU beds. Thrissur and Alappuzha medical colleges have 45 and 80 of them respectively. 

Due to the present crisis, the departments are struggling to shift the patients to ICUs in case of emergencies. The number of patients visiting hospitals with respiratory-related illnesses is on the rise each passing day.          

Respiratory diseases on the rise post-pandemic

In a study conducted by the Vellore Christian Medical College, it was revealed that a sizable Indian population who had recovered from COVID-19 are still suffering from various kinds of respiratory diseases and symptoms. The ability to infuse oxygen into the blood has been affected in 44 per cent of the people who recovered from COVID-19. Meanwhile, 35 per cent of people suffer from abnormalities of respiratory control.

Officials at the Chest Diseases Hospital in Pulayanarkotta claimed that 70 per cent of the patients arriving at the hospital required ventilator support. 

“Respiratory-related illnesses have been on the rise ever since the pandemic. In some cases, ICUs become essential for the patients,” says Dr Fatahudeen, Pulmonary Medicine Head at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College.