Bhubaneswar: The fire at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, has brought more misery for patients who have been trying to secure ICU admissions. The fire at the trauma ICU killed 12 patients and also gutted the 20 ICU beds, which has hurt SCB’s ability to provide intensive care to critical patients.SCB is a premier medical college and hospital in the state. People from across the state come to this hospital for tertiary care. District headquarters hospitals and other hospitals across the state refer serious patients to SCB for further treatment. These patients mostly need ICU beds. The hospital had 180 ICU beds across various departments, of which 20 have been gutted in the fire.“If we calculate the footfall of patients in casualty/trauma care and OPDs, we can find that SCB needs at least 500 ICU beds to cater to the needs of the increasing number of patients. Around 4,000 patients visit SCB every day. The existing ICU beds are not sufficient for critically ill patients,” said a professor of SCB.“After trauma care ICUs were badly affected in the fire accident, many patients are forced to go to private hospitals,” the professor added.Biswajeet Gope (38), a native of Dungridih in Jharkhand, had come to SCB medical college and hospital, hoping to get an ICU bed. “I had met with a road accident recently and got initial treatment in Jharkhand. Later, I came to SCB for further treatment. As my chest pain did not subside, doctors prescribed admission to the ICU. But an ICU bed was not available in SCB. I had to go to a private nursing home in Cuttack,” said Gope.Laxman Rao, a social worker who helps patients and their kin at SCB, said several patients have returned from the hospital after not finding ICU beds. “Getting an ICU bed at SCB was very difficult even before the fire. After 20 ICU beds were affected in the blaze, the situation has become more difficult for patients,” Rao said.A doctor from SCB said the hospital should maintain the standard for ICUs. “If a person does not need an ICU, he/she should not be sent to the ICU. Critically ill and needy patients should be prioritised while allotting ICU beds. Besides ICU beds, more doctors and nursing officers are needed to serve the patients,” the doctor said on condition of anonymity.
