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Minister to open new ICU at medical college

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 3. A new intensive care unit (ICU) with all modern facilities, set up in the casualty wing of the Medical College, will be commissioned by the Health Minister, P. Sankaran, here on Wednesday.

The three-bedded, fully air-conditioned ICU has been equipped with the most modern medical emergency facilities, including a portable ventilator. Patients who have suffered cardiac arrests or any other heart condition, which requires resuscitation can be brought in straight to the casualty where they can be put on the ventilator, the MCH Superintendent, N. Viswanathan, said.

The ICU is also equipped with an ECG monitor, pulse oxymeter and defibrillator and staff nurses trained in ICU management will be in charge of the patients. The specially-designed beds will ensure that patients can be rolled into the ICU smoothly. Cardiac patients will be administered emergency medicines which itself can bring down the mortality rate in casualty wings, Dr. Viswanathan said.

A team of doctors, including cardiology specialists, will be managing the new ICU, which is claimed to be the best equipped in the city. The doctors here can even do counselling for those patients who require primary angioplasty and send them to the cardiology wing. The medicines will be free for poor patients.

The mortality rate in casualty wards in hospitals has been found to be around 12 per cent but with a well-equipped ICU, this can be brought down to less than five percent, Dr. Viswanathan said. Patients would not be kept here for more than two hours and after administering emergency treatment would be shifted to respective medical wards.

The new ICU has been constructed at a cost of Rs. 12 lakhs.

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