Bantwal gets KSRTC's 'ICU on wheels' bus service

To treat the patients from rural areas, the Sarige Suraksha, ‘ICU on wheels’ service has arrived at KSRTC depot in Mangaluru's B C Road.

Built in-house by the KSRTC at an estimated cost of Rs 10 lakh, the ICU on wheels is the second such effort by KSRTC to pitch in during the pandemic. The ICU on wheels had arrived for the first time to KSRTC Puttur division comprising Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts.

MLA Rajesh Naik had placed a demand with Transport Minister Lakshman Savadi to sanction ICU on wheels for Bantwal.

The five-bedded bus cum ambulance is equipped with a ventilator, oxygen system for each bed, patient monitor (BP, Oxygen Amount, ECG, Temperature) system, emergency medicine system along with a generator to power the equipment. The bus has a siren facility similar to that of an ambulance. It also has a notice board.

MLA Rajesh Naik will flag off the ICU on wheels at Polali on July 13. The Sarige Suraksha, ‘ICU on wheels’ service will visit villages once in two months. The bus will have a doctor and health assistant from the health department, said KSRTC BC Road depot Manager Shreesha Bhat.