Karnataka: Bengaluru's Makeshift COVID-19 ICU Allows Patients Interact With Relatives Via Large Screens

While the families of COVID-19 patients in a quandary are not allowed to troop into the highly infectious environs of ICUs, the desire to see their loved ones remains unfulfilled.

But a government-run hospital in Bengaluru has made provision for the relatives of critical COVID-19 patients admitted to the Intensive Care Units (ICU) to see their loved ones. The camera placed near a large CCTV screen placed outside the hospital relays glimpses of the relatives to the patients, reported Deccan Herald.

KC General Hospital allows this at 5:00 pm every day. The 45-bed temporary ICU is one of the most sought-after facilities in the government healthcare system in the state.

"We were at a private hospital and were paying ₹60,000 per day. We got this ICU facility allotted three days ago. Here, unlike most other hospitals, we are allowed to see our patient on a daily basis, and this is a relief for the family," said Bala K, a relative of a COVID-19 patient admitted to the hospital.

The facility was created in February this year using cargo containers, and the hospital reportedly sourced these supplies through the PM-Cares fund.

These ICUs were created under a public-private initiative, wherein each container is a room with 9 of them having 5 ICU beds each.

Most of the facility is full, but the hospitals keep some beds free for their own COVID patients whose condition may deteriorate suddenly, a duty doctor told the publication.

The city has been reporting more than 20,000 cases per day over the past three days amid a severe crunch of medical supplies. The state government is, therefore, eyeing more such modular ICU setups like this across the city.