Doctors urge health minister to focus on better ICU facilities at govt hospitals

Bengaluru: Doctors and healthcare professionals from across the state said that there is a need to improve the ICU facilities in government hospitals.

The doctors, who met Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao ahead of the state budget presentation on February 16, provided a number of suggestions to make healthcare facilities accessible to citizens.

Speaking on the need to strengthen the ICU facilities, Rao said that there were enough ICU beds at the taluk and district levels, but it was the lack of staff that was a problem. “Many ICU beds are being used as general beds, owing to a lack of manpower. We will chalk out a programme in this budget to address this issue,” he said.

More nursing courses

Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, senior cardiac surgeon and founder of the Narayana Group of Hospitals, suggested that the government should open up more nursing courses at taluk and district hospitals.

“At present, the Health Department is only focused on meeting the state’s need for health workers. However, there is a huge demand for qualified health workers at the national and international level. Hence, it would be a good idea to start nursing courses at taluk and district hospitals,” he said.

The experts also suggested that the government increase the rates under the Ayushman Bharat-Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) scheme.

Rao, who acknowledged the need, said that the proposal for revision of rates was being discussed with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. That apart, there were a few suggestions related to better policy on blood bank management and kidney transplant.

Dr CN Manjunath, Director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research (SJICR); Dr V Lokesh, Director, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology; Dr Pratima Murthy, Director, Nimhans; and several other experts from the healthcare sector provided their suggestions to the minister at the meeting held on Friday.