Karnataka government has invested Rs 5 crore to set up a full-fledged Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Bowring & Lady Curzon hospital. The 24 bed ICU has 10 beds for critical care, four for isolated care or communicable diseases and the remaining for step-down patients who need to stabilized and undergo dialysis.

According to Dr H Satishchandra, medical superintend, Bowring Hospital, the ICU is well equipped with high end monitors, ventilators, syringe infusion pumps, volume infusion pumps, defibrillator, central monitoring station, fibro-optic laryngoscope, portable ultrasound unit and portable x-ray. This could handle cases for both neo-natal, paediatrics and adults.

The key aim of the hospital is to make the facility affordable and accessible to the below the poverty line patients. Adequate staff to provide and support these services have also been appointed stated Dr GT Subhas, director and dean, Bangalore Medical College and Research Centre.

Further, the departments of cardiology, neuro surgery, gastroenterology and psychiatry are also being set-up. The cardiology section has a tread mill and 2-D Echocardiogram machine. At least 40 per cent of emergencies are patients suffering from heart conditions. A Central Lab within the Casualty Block is also opened to offer service between 9 am and 4 pm everyday.

With the view to support the HIV and AIDS patients, the hospital has set aside 100x100 feet of land to allow Karnataka AIDS Prevention Society and National AIDS Control Organization to construct a six storied building. Bowring Hospital has been known to diagnose and treat HIV cases with Antiretroviral therapy.

According to Dr Subhas, efforts are on to collect the cost details of ICUs at other government hospitals like Victoria, Vani Vilas, Jayanagar and Minto Ophthalmic Hospital to provide uniform fee at all these medical centres. The objective is to offer the same rate as these are accessed by poor patients. Current fee is between Rs 500 to Rs 1,200 he added.