Akash, a businessman from Ponda, Goa, had been feeling down for a few days. However he ignored it due to his busy schedule. One day, while working from the office, he collapsed suddenly and had to be rushed to a hospital. Upon reaching Savaikar Hospital, the doctors knew Akash must be shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) as he had suffered a major heart attack.
An ICU is a dedicated facility that has specialized equipment and trained staff to continuously monitor and care for patients who are critically ill. 15 years ago, people in Ponda, Goa, had to travel at least 30 kilometers to the next largest city to use the ICU facilities. This changed, however, with the establishment of the ICU at Savaikar Hospital. According to Dr. Megha Savaikar, the resident intensivist at Savaikar hospital, “The initial idea was to start a small intensive care unit with basic facilities like ventilators, syringe pumps, multipara monitors, and other things to stabilize patients who were critically ill.”
Led by award-winning physician Dr. Lalana Bakhale and anesthesiologist/resident intensivist Dr. Megha Savaikar, the ICU is a major accomplishment for Savaikar Hospital. Since its inception in 2007, the ICU at Savaikar hospital has grown by leaps and bounds. “The ICU now has eight beds, the most up-to-date equipment, and staff that has been specifically trained to monitor and treat all kinds of emergencies. Additionally, we are NABH accredited,” Dr. Megha exclaims with pride.
The ICU at Savaikar Hospital has a lab open 24×7, basic equipment like ventilators, syringe pumps, air beds, DVT and infusion pumps, invasive monitoring devices like BIPAP machines, oxygen concentrators, and so on. Medical officers and trained nurses are also available around the clock. ECG, X-ray, ABG, ultrasonography, dialysis units, and other cutting-edge bedside technologies are also available in the ICU at Savaikar Hospital. “Such bedside equipment is critical for monitoring patients in real-time and making quick decisions regarding treatment in an ICU setup where patients’ vitals are changing constantly and unpredictably,” says Dr. Megha.
Since most patients in the ICU will be weak and immunocompromised it is important to maintain high standards of hygiene in the ICU to avoid hospital-acquired infections. This is achieved through strict adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs), periodic sterilization of the ICU, maintaining strict timings and attire for visitors, etc. “Being a family-oriented hospital, we do not hold patients longer than necessary in the ICU which also contributes to lower infection rates,” says Dr. Megha.
The intensive care unit treats all kinds of emergencies quickly and effectively, with age being no barrier. These include cardiac emergencies like severe myocardial infarctions, heart failures, and chest pains, pulmonary edemas, renal failures, respiratory conditions like COPD and asthma, convulsions, poisonings of all kinds, animal bites, traumas, accidents, fluid overload in dialysis patients, and a lot more.
According to Dr. Megha, the best way to run a successful ICU is via the multimodal approach. In the ICU, Drs. Bakhale and Megha collaborate to provide the finest care for their patients. “Dr. Bakhale, a seasoned physician, oversees the ICU, while my skills as an anesthetist and intensivist allow me to intubate patients, put in an arterial or central line and provide critical care,” says Dr. Megha. Other specialists like a psychiatrist, a dietician, and a physiotherapist are available to tend to the mental, dietary, and physical needs respectively of the bed-ridden patients in the ICU.
Akash’s life was saved when he was successfully revived and treated for his heart condition thanks to the close proximity of a well-equipped ICU. Like Akash, critically ill Ponda patients are pleased to have the best ICU facilities close to home. At Savaikar Hospital’s ICU, anyone from Ponda can now receive the best care for any kind of medical emergency at any time of day.