Desperate daughter runs around for ICU bed for 63-year-old father, BBMP says all full

For two days, a daughter had searched for a bed in an Intensive Care Unit for her 63-year-old father whose oxygen levels fluctuated dangerously.

The father of Valli (name changed) was at the Covid ward of St John’s Hospital. While volunteers of patients’ support groups were tweeting SOS messages and got leads from respondents, the patient’s wife and daughter were yet to find a bed for him.

“The doctor told us he needs a ventilator as his oxygen saturation levels are fluctuating and he is not stable,” Valli said. “With oxygen, he is able to maintain his saturation at 90, without it he’s dipping to 80. He needs a ventilator to be stable. The doctor said his condition isn’t improving.”

Hospitals they contacted asked them to come through BBMP, while the civic body said they had no beds. “We don’t know where to get admission,” Valli said.

St John’s has 64 patients in its ICU, half of whom are on ventilation. At least eight patients, four from the ward and four from the ICU need ventilators. The city has run out of ICU beds.

Read: Global community rushes financial and medical assistance to India to combat Covid-19 surge

“Accommodating everyone has become difficult for doctors and nurses, more so to deal with the conflict (of helping some and not helping others). This causes helplessness, guilt and even anger that we do not have more,” said Dr Sanjiv Lewin, medical superintendent, St John’s. “We will never have enough. (because) This is a disaster where demand hugely exceeds resources.”

He said Covid patients occupied 63% beds available at the hospital, which in real numbers meant the hospital provided 543 beds for Covid patients out of 857. “Only 314 patients, or 37%, are non-Covid,” Dr Lewin said. “Of the Covid patients, the BBMP has referred 76% or 413, while 130 or 24% are walk-ins.”

The ICU at the hospital has so far cared for 849 ventilated critically ill patients.

On the other hand, Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar has said 20% of the three makeshift hospitals will come up at Victoria, Bowring and the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases. All of them will be equipped with ventilators.

As on Tuesday, 2,063 patients were in ICU in the state, including 824 in Bengaluru, 265 in Kalaburagi, 134 in Tumakuru and 122 in Dharwad.