New ICU Guidelines: For the first time, the Central Government has issued guidelines regarding the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital. These guidelines have been prepared by a panel of 24 top doctors. It lists several medical conditions in which a patient needs to be admitted to the ICU, such as mild unconsciousness that requires respiratory support, severe illness that requires intensive monitoring, post-surgery. When there is a fear of deterioration in health, and those patients who are undergoing major intraoperative complications.

Why are new rules necessary

Dr. RK Mani is included in the list of experts who have made this guideline. He told Times of India, 'ICU is a limited resource, our effort is to use it judiciously so that priority can be given to those who need it the most.'

Dr. Sumit Ray, Secretary of the Indian College of Critical Care Medicine, said that this is just an advice, not a restriction. 'ICU admission and discharge criteria are broad in nature and much is left to the discretion of the treating doctor.'

Shortage of ICU beds in India

There are approximately one lakh ICU beds in India, mostly in private hospitals in big cities. Well-known lawyer and public health activist Ashok Aggarwal told the Times of India, 'The poor who cannot afford private hospitals have to struggle a lot. Yes, many times they fail to get an ICU bed. The idea of ​​giving priority to patients in ICU should depend on their medical conditions. The government should work in this direction so that the facilities are increased so much that everyone can get critical care.

ICU costs more

Generally, the cost of ICU bed in a private hospital is 5 to 10 times more than that of a general bed. Many times relatives of patients complain that the patient is kept in ICU unnecessarily so that the medical bill can be increased. Many experts say that patients can be treated properly through the new guidelines. According to the new guidelines, the patient will have to be discharged from the ICU when his condition becomes close to normal or achieves the baseline status.

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