Hospitals asked to check ICU availability before referrals

Mangaluru: The non-availability of ICU beds at the Govt Wenlock District Hospital is causing significant inconvenience to patients from Dakshina Kannada and other districts. The hospital has 116 ICU beds, but almost all remain occupied daily due to an increase in critical cases from neighbouring districts and Kerala. Officials requested hospitals across coastal districts, Malnad, and northern Kerala to check ICU availability before sending critical cases to Wenlock Hospital.DHO Dr Thimmaiah HR told TOI that, despite having 116 ICU beds, Wenlock Hospital sees near-constant full occupancy, as the hospital receives critical cases from around 12 districts. "Wenlock Hospital gets critical cases from all taluks of Dakshina Kannada, as well as other districts, as it has all the advanced facilities. Most of the time, when critical cases reach Mangaluru, the hospital fails to ensure ICU beds immediately. Hence, we requested all hospitals in the district and other districts to at least check the availability of ICU beds before sending the patients to Wenlock Hospital," the DHO said.
The DHO said that if there is no bed availability in Wenlock Hospital, private hospitals should accommodate the cases when the health department issues a reference letter. There is no need for an Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) card to avail the scheme benefits in govt or private hospitals. Submitting the ration card, Aadhaar card, and a mobile number linked to it is sufficient to avail AB-ArK scheme benefits. "We directed all empanelled private hospitals to provide services as per the agreement. Govt hospitals refer only tertiary care cases to private hospitals. Meanwhile, there is no need for referral letters for emergency cases," he clarified.Several organisations and political leaders raised the issue of the non-availability of ICU beds in Wenlock Hospital at various forums. DYFI district president Santhosh Bajal said that upgrading Wenlock Hospital as a regional hospital, establishing a govt medical college, Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, and Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology in Mangaluru will solve all issues related to the health sector in the region.