Sea change in Critical Care in Kashmir hospitals leads to dip in referrals

Irfan Tramboo
SRINAGAR, June 15: The Critical Care across Kashmir hospitals has witnessed a sea change over some time with the availability of the necessary support system in the hospitals while the authorities are mulling to strengthen the same in days to come with special focus on the paediatrics.
Currently, as per details available with Excelsior, there are around 1204 Oxygen Supported Beds across Kashmir, 82 Intensive Care Units, and over 100 High Flow Devices while the Oxygen generation capacity has also been increased to 20900 Liters Per Minute (LPM).
While the authorities were already looking to declutter the tertiary care hospitals and ensure the necessary healthcare set up in the peripheries, officials said that with the increased infrastructure in the Critical Care across Kashmir, there has been a substantial dip in the patient referral from peripheries to the tertiary healthcare facilities.
The figures concerning the admissions and referrals from the hospitals suggest that in the month of May this year, 2230 patients were admitted to the emergency rooms across Kashmir hospitals, out of which 24 patients died, 409 were referred while the rest were treated locally.
Further, in the High-Density Units (HDU), Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), and Intensity Care Units (ICU) across Kashmir nearly 85 patients were admitted out of which only 9 were referred to tertiary care hospitals, and 3 deaths were reported.
Also, with regard to the admissions in NICU and PICU, nearly 233 patients were admitted across Kashmir while out of the total, only 53 patients were referred to tertiary hospitals.
“We have noted a decrease in the referrals and that has been because of the specialized and well-equipped facilities put in place across Kashmir hospital even as the health department is eyeing to strengthen and upgrade the same in days to come while as we will be setting up more specialized units in all the districts,” Nodal Officer, Dr Shabir Siddiqui told Excelsior.
He further said that in days to come, Paediatric Intensive Care Units and Oxygen Supported Paediatric beds including all high-end equipment are being established under ECRP-2 in all district hospitals of the Kashmir division.
The officials said that the authorities have already been working towards improving the Critical Care set up in Kashmir, the absence of which, earlier, was resulting in undue and necessary referrals from peripheries hospitals in Kashmir, burdening the tertiary care hospitals. “Working in coordination with the National Health Mission, we have taken up the work and will ensure that the necessary infrastructure is aimed at further improving the Critical Care across Kashmir in next some time.”