COURTESY HT SEPT 9

Now, ICU beds in short supply at leading hospitals
Anonna Dutt

anonna.dutt@hindustantimes.com

New Delhi : There are no intensive care unit (ICU) beds with ventilators available for Covid-19 patients in eight of the Capital’s 11 top private hospitals, data from the Delhi government’s real-time occupancy tracking app, Delhi Corona, showed on Tuesday, raising concerns the city may face a shortage of critical care resources if the current spike in new infections worsens.

The national capital recorded 3,609 new Covid-19 infections as on Monday, taking the number of active cases to 22,377 – the highest since July 8, the government’s daily health bulletin showed on Tuesday. The number of people in hospital has risen in tandem: from 3,590 beds occupied August 24 to 5,218 on September 7.

While this still leaves 8,788 of the 14,202 beds vacant, the concern particularly relates to ICU beds – of the 14,202, only 2,117 are in the intensive care category.

“With the increase in...cases, we will have to start optimising our resources and may have to follow a strict cut-off like what was being followed in June — only those with oxygen saturation below 94% were being admitted to hospitals. However, by then sometimes the condition already starts deteriorating,” said Dr Neeraj Gupta, professor of pulmonology at Safdarjung hospital