Mumbai: The pandemic highlighted the challenges and the need to strengthen critical care services in our country. It has also evolved the role of critical care specialists in tackling healthcare emergencies of such scale. With an aim to provide a world-class critical care facility, SL Raheja Hospital Mahim launched a state-of-the-art intensive care unit – the Dr BS Raheja Critical Care Unit. The 11+2 bedded unit is enabled with modern machinery, astute architecture, and well-trained medical & nursing teams to ensure quality care.
Patients dealing with critical illness require intensive care for various medical conditions. These conditions though life-threatening can be controlled with appropriate medical intervention. The patients in ICU need continuous monitoring, thus the unit is equipped with a central nursing station designed in such a way that each and every patient and monitor is visible and thus continuously watched and monitored. This will benefit the doctors and medical professionals that are looking after the patients 24×7. Another crucial highlight of the ICU is the mobile caregiver system, which will provide remote access for clinicians on the go. This will allow them to retrieve and monitor the data (from patient monitors) from remote locations inside or outside the hospital, thereby simplifying and improving the decision-making procedure. Both these features ensure extensive support and monitoring to the patient and make the unit one of the safest units in the country. The unit also comprises two very sought-after negative-pressure cubicles.
Dr Sanjith Saseedharan, Head-Critical Care, SL Raheja Hospital, Mahim, who helms this unit, said, ‘’Critical care units play an important role when dealing with rapidly deteriorating patients; the importance of a well-equipped ICU became eminent during the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic also highlighted that critical care services, which were the core to treating patients with severe COVID-19, needed an upgrade – both in terms of technology & infrastructure. With the launch of our new ICU, we will be able to offer critical care services backed by the latest technology, trained manpower and infrastructure.”
The ICU also has been efficiently divided into two mirror-image units; one of these areas will be used as a dedicated area to tackle airborne illnesses.
Speaking during the inauguration, Dr Kunal Punamiya, CEO, SL Raheja Hospital, Mahim-A Fortis Associate, said, “Our new future-ready ICU is set on the foundation of cutting-edge technology, patient centricity, and quality care. We are proud to be able to bring to Mumbai a setup of this stature, that harnesses technology to bring the best to its patients, making this unit arguably the best that the city can offer.”
Building on the learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic, the ICU is modified and equipped to deal with all kinds of criticalities and provide patients with not only timely intervention but quality care too.