Bengaluru to get dedicated 100-bed ICU hospital

MANGALURU: Minister for health and family welfare UT Khader on Saturday announced that an intensive care hospital with 100 beds will be set up in Bengaluru soon. The move has been mooted following the death of two boys due to lack of ventilators in Bengaluru hospitals. TOI had highlighted the issue of lack of ventilators in Bengaluru hospitals with the reports - 'Kids battling for life sent on ventilator hunt' on Dec 12 and 'Ventilator trauma: Boys lose battle' on Dec 13. Khader said the new hospital will come up either under a public-private partnership initiative or through the government directly. A meeting is likely to be convened soon to discuss the plan. Khader warned medical colleges of stern action if they deny treatment to patients. "We will raise the issue with the Medical Council of India, if medical colleges refuse treatment to patients citing ventilator shortage," he said. "A committee headed by medical education director S S Harsoor will inquire into the death of children and shortage of ventilators in Bengaluru hospitals. The committee find out if the hospitals rejected treatment and if there was any possibility of saving the children had the hospitals responded any differently," Khader said. The committee has also been asked to find the actual number of ventilators required for hospitals in Bengaluru city, said Khader, who was here to participate in an interaction with children living with HIV/AIDS. -TOI