Sassoon draws patients from across districts and the state
Currently, the hospital’s outpatient department sees an average of 1,629 patients daily. As many as 1,036 patients are admitted to the inpatient department. Even then there is always a scarcity due to high demand. A bed vacated due to a patient’s recovery or death is given to the next patient on the waiting list.
SGH medical superintendent Dr Yallapa Jadhav said, ”Currently, the hospital has more ICU beds than the number prescribed by the National Medical Commission. It will also spare the families traumatic last-minute scrambles. ” Jadhav said they often get calls from politicians and even senior officials for ICU beds for critical patients. SGH dean Dr Eknath Pawar said critically ill patients from Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad as well as districts of Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Ahilyanagar and Beed are admitted to Sassoon. Lack of available beds imposes severe limitations on us,” he said.
We request hospitals and doctors to verify with us about availability beforehand to avoid last minute chaos and ensure timely care for patients. “We are forced to refuse. We can arrange for general ward beds. However, in case of an ICU bed, we can allot it to someone else only when the patient occupying it is shifted, recovers or expires. “ICU beds remain constantly occupied and there are typically five to six patients on the waiting list daily. We have in-house patients who are already in line. It is difficult to allow someone from outside to jump the queue. Patients who are critical are often referred from other hospitals at the last minute.
Earlier reporting noted: On August 27, senior citizen Laxmi Babar, who had suffered a cerebrovascular accident and undergone cardiac surgery, was brought to Sassoon in an intubated condition. Her family, however, alleged that she died due to a delay in hospitalisation.
The hospital said all ICU ventilator beds were occupied and advised her relatives to shift her to the emergency department while providing artificial respiration with an Ambu bag. She was later declared “brought dead” after doctors found no pulse, blood pressure or cardiac activity. Pune: Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) authorities have urged all healthcare facilities and doctors to confirm ICU bed availability with them before referring critical cases. Sassoon draws patients from across districts and the state. Its ICU routinely runs at full capacity, yet receives daily referrals that strain resources and sparks confrontations between doctors and patients’ relatives. Lack of beds often also lead to deaths. The hospital has also started asking families to register in advance for ICU beds through its helpline.
Earlier reporting noted: Sassoon asks families to check ICU bed availability amid death-after-delay allegation Amid an allegation that a critically ill patient died after a delay in hospitalisation, B J Government Medical College (BJMC) and Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) has urged relatives to check ICU bed availability before bringing critically ill patients to the facility. Earlier reporting noted: Hospital authorities said at a press conference on Monday that their intensive care units remain fully occupied, with five to six patients waiting for ICU beds every day.