Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, May 20: Amid the spike in Covid-19 cases, the tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, are running short of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds as all the available beds are presently occupied, officials said on Thursday.
Of 133 beds designated as COVID ICU beds, around 61 beds have already been occupied, the officials informed.
A top health official said that 72 COVID ICU beds are presently vacant in Kashmir division while the four main tertiary care hospitals in Srinagar are running short of ICU beds as all the available beds are presently occupied.
“With each passing day, the steep surge in positive cases with acute symptoms continues. More and more ICU beds are getting occupied and if the spike in Covid-19 cases continues, it seems very soon we will struggle to find a life-support bed for sick patients,” an official said.
An official said four tertiary care hospitals of Srinagar including SKIMS Soura, SKIMS Medical College Hospital Bemina, SMHS Srinagar and Chest Disease hospital are having 100 percent occupancy of the ICU beds and not even a single bed is vacant at present.
An official said that at SKIMS Soura, 370 beds including 350 isolation and 20 ICU beds have been kept reserved for Covid patients and among them 255 isolation and all ICU beds are occupied.
At SMHS, an official said, there are 290 beds kept for Covid patients including 279 isolation beds and 11 COVID ICU beds and among them 275 isolation beds and all 11 ICU beds are full while there is a vacancy of only three isolation beds.
“At SKIMS Bemina, of 154 beds including 150 isolation beds and four ICU beds, 121 isolation beds and all four ICU beds are occupied,” an official said.
“At CD hospital, of 94 total bed capacity, 77 are isolation beds and 17 are ICU beds. All ICU beds are occupied, however, 29 isolation beds are available,” an official said.
An official at JLNM Hospital out of 213 including 200 isolation and 13 ICU beds, 89 Isolation and 04 ICU beds are vacant.
“Besides that at PHC Chanapora out of 41 isolation beds and 04 ICU beds, just 02 isolation and 04 isolation beds are available,” an official said.
The ICU beds which are vacant in Kashmir so far include seven at SDH Sopore, seven at Trauma Hospital Bijbehara, six at district Hospital Bandipora, 10 at MCH wing Kulgam, four at AMT School Shopian, 10 at District hospital Pulwama, 12 at District hospital Gandebal and eight at CHC Kupwara.
In Kashmir division out of 2,749 isolation beds 1,652 beds are full and 1,097 are vacant. Among 133 isolation beds 61 beds are full and 72 are vacant.
Pertinently, there are around 30 thousand active positive cases in Kashmir division.
