Bengaluru's ICU bed shortage crisis worsens; man turned away by hospital dies

Five days since Bengaluru first began encountering a shortage in ICU and ICU ventilator beds, the situation showed no signs of abating on Tuesday. So far, the crisis has claimed one confirmed victim: a 46-year old man who was sent to a private hospital in Bommanahalli on Sunday to occupy an ICU ventilator bed under the government quota.

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However, he was turned away by medical staff who feared that his condition would deteriorate overnight, explained Tauseef Ahmed of the NGO Mercy Angels. "His oxygen saturation was 40% but the hospital would not allot the bed. Instead, they tried to move him to Apollo Hospital. He died while en route," Ahmed said.

The BBMP said it was now conducting an audit of that death. "We are now facing this problem because the Department of Health and Family Welfare did not properly assess the available beds within private hospitals. Most of the figures provided to them were bogus," said a health official, speaking anonymously. "In contrast, bed management at medical colleges is in better shape as the Department of Medical Education had actually surveyed beds."

As per government data, there are 144 ICU ventilator beds in government hospitals and medical colleges in the city, plus 418 such beds in private hospitals or medical colleges. However, on Monday, not a single bed was available. On Tuesday, one bed at a private hospital in Sampangirama Nagar was available but which was rapidly filled.

Officially, there are 263 Covid-19 patients under ICU care in the city, which translates to an occupancy rate of 46.7%. However, officials and field volunteers said that many beds are being used by private quota patients.

Omprakash Patil, Director, DoHFW, acknowledged the problem. "When asked about why government quota beds have been given to private patients, the hospitals say it is difficult to turn away a private patient requiring a ventilator," Patil said.

A senior BBMP official speaking on the condition of anonymity said improper city-wide triaging had also sent many new Covid-19 patients home when they should have gone into hospitals. "Many patients have turned serious, increasing demand for ICU beds," the official said.

Intra-state demand

According to a senior BBMP official, the inflow of people from surrounding districts where medical infrastructure, is weak, is also responsible for the shortage of ICU beds in Bengaluru. "There are many people from surrounding districts such as Tumakuru and Kolar, claiming residency in the city and occupying beds in Bengaluru hospitals. This is aggravating the shortage," the official said.