The hospital on Wednesday launched a 24-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with ventilators and multi-para monitors, which can be used for both adults as well as neonatal patients. Along with this, a two-bedded dialysis unit will also be kept in the step down area, informed the hospital authorities.

 “The section will be operational by mid next week. There are 10 beds in the ICU ward, 10 in step down ICU and four in isolation ward.  Apart from this, we have kept all the equipment including portable ultrasound machine and x-ray machine in the ICU so that the patients need not be wheeled out for any kind of tests,” said Dr H Satishchandra, medical superintendent of the hospital. The ICU patients will be monitored by an intensivist along with the Anaesthesia department and additional paramedical staff and doctors have also been appointed.

Other facilities include a counselling lounge, 24-hour pharmacy, 24-hour lab, self-contained central sterilisation unit, two fully equipped emergency operation theatres and liquid oxygen plant. 

Four new departments

Further, four new departments have been formed - neurosurgery, psychiatry, medical gastroenterology and cardiology - with out-patient and admission facilities. The cardiology department has also been provided with state-of-art treadmill and 2D echocardiography machine. Twenty four new special wards and central laboratory and emergency lab have also been set up.

Besides, the hospital has provided 100’ X 100’ land, where the Karnataka State AIDS Prevention Society (KSAPS) and National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) will construct a six-storeyed building within a year.

Meanwhile, Dr G T Subhas, director cum dean, Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), who was also present at the launch meet, said that BMCRI has collected the ICU rates of other Government autonomous hospitals and will come up with uniform charges in all the four hospitals under BMCRI - Victoria Hospital, Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, Vani Vilas Hospital and Minto Ophthalmic Hospital.  

Future plans

* Full fledged nephro-urology department and 10 dialysis machines are already being procured

* A 10-bedded burns ward and an eight-bedded Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

* An Effluent Treatment

Plant (ETP) with a capacity of 300 KLD will be built

* Liquid oxygen plant with 6,000 ltr capacity to be installed in trauma and emergency block

* Post graduate men’s hospital to be built, which can accommodate 244 students on twin-sharing basis

* Multi-storied in patient department block, with a capacity to handle 750 patients, will be ready by August 2010.

* 56 doctor’s quarters are nearly completed - 14 flats are 3BHK and 42 are 2BHK