INTENSIVE CARE SERVICE
Overview
Virinchi Hospitals has state-of-the-art facilities to provide intensive care to its patients. The unit is located on two floors with a total of 140 intensive care beds. All resources for the care of critically ill patients are concentrated in these two areas for optimal efficiency and outcome. All the ICUs are well-equipped with advanced life-support and monitoring devices.
A dedicated monitoring system is set in place to monitor each ICU unit. The monitoring equipment is integrated to a single nursing dashboard, which is available to the doctor on his mobile. All ICU beds are continuously monitored by means of a dedicated CCTV allocated to each ICU patient’s bed. The patient’s vitals are monitored, archived and telecasted to the physicians for personalized monitoring and care with due attention and respect to patient’s privacy.
To maintain proper sterility and avoid hospital infections all the ICUs including isolation and transplant ICUs are regularly monitored for microbial growth and audited by the hospital infection committee. Physical barriers and air-flow changes minimize air borne infections in the ICUs.
Critical Care Unit (CCU)
At Virinchi Hospital, critical care patients receive optimum, multidisciplinary and collaborative care irrespective of their individual ICUs, which they are assigned to. ICU has qualified specialists in Intensive Care who work in close association and collaboration with equally qualified specialists of various disciplines. Experienced nurses with advanced training in critical care nursing and anaesthesia provide round-the-clock critical care to the patients.
Diseases that are diagnosed and treated include Sepsis, Respiratory Failure, shock of any aetiology, Asthma and COPD, overdose and poisoning, complications arising out of pregnancy, liver disorders and failure, neurological emergencies, multi-system trauma and tropical diseases.
- Number of beds in CCU: 14
- Number of beds in High Dependency Unit: 10
- Nurse/Patient Ratio: 1:1 in CCU and 2:3 in HDU
Along with the pulmonary consultant team, care is also provided by:
- Respiratory therapists
- Clinical pharmacists
- Clinical nutritionists
- Physical, occupational and speech therapists
SICU (Surgical Intensive Care Unit)
Intensive and intermediate care is provided to critically ill patients following gastrointestinal, oncology/endocrine, gynaecological, thoracic, plastic, otolaryngology/head and neck, orthopaedic and renal transplantation surgical procedures. After the completion of surgery, the patient is transferred to the SICU or the post anaesthesia care unit (PACU).
- Number of Beds SICU: 18
- Number of Beds in Stepdown SICU: 16
- Nurse/Patient Ratio: 2:3
In the SICU, the patient’s vitals like pulse, breathing and BP are monitored along with the other parameters like temperature, level of consciousness, etc. In addition signs of complications, urine output are also monitored. The patient is made comfortable by body positioning and pain medications. In addition, clinical staff recommends and assists in some exercises for faster recovery.
ICCU (Intensive Cardiac Care Unit)
In the Intensive Cardiac Care Unit (ICCU), a multidisciplinary team of specialists including cardiologist, general physician, intensivists, respiratory therapists, clinical pharmacists, palliative care specialist and intensive care nurses specialized in heart failure, and heart attack management provide top quality care to critically ill cardiac patients.
The patients who suffer from rare and common heart conditions including heart attack (myocardial infarction), heart failure and cardiac arrest can avail a wide range of interventional cardiology services; in addition, they can also experience exceptional patient satisfaction owing to the continuum of care as the ICCU is closely affiliated to Virinchi Heart Centre that encompasses state-of-the-art Cardiothoracic Surgery department, Cardiology Department, Cardiac Surgery ICU.
- Number of Beds in ICCU: 13
- Number of Beds in Stepdown ICCU: 11
- Nurse/Patient Ratio: 2:3
Leading the way with new treatments
The ICCU at Virinchi Hospitals provides hypothermia treatment following a cardiac arrest. In this type of treatment, the patient’s body is cooled to 91°F for 24 hours in order to minimize the brain damage risk due to lack of oxygen.
NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit)
NICU at Virinchi Hospitals encompasses a 5-bed unit along with an experienced, trained and qualified NICU team comprising board-certified neonatologists, paediatricians, paediatric intensivists, and neonatal intensive care nurses to offer care to a full spectrum of new-borns cases. The care is offered to to-term, or near term, critically ill high-risk babies, maturing and recovering babies who are less critical.
- Number of Beds: 5
- Nurse/Patient Ratio: 2:3
The services available at the NICU include complex congenital heart disease screening, infant CPR training, new-born metabolic screening, breast pumping room & breast milk storage, NICU family & resource centre, mother baby unit for room-in 24 hrs, etc.
CT ICU (Cardio Thoracic Intensive Care Unit)
CT ICU provides patient-centric care to the critically ill patients who recover after cardio-thoracic procedures like open heart surgery procedures that treat conditions like coronary artery disease, congenital heart diseases, valve repairs and replacements, aortic aneurysm repairs, implantation of ventricular assist devices, etc.
- Number of Beds in CT ICU: 11
- Number of Beds in Stepdown CT ICU: 6
- Nurse/Patient Ratio: 2:3
The overall length of stay in the CTICU varies, depending upon the type of surgery. It is not unusual for a patient to get transferred to the Cardiac Surgery Step-down Unit within 24 hours. More complex procedures may require longer recovery. Patients get typically transferred from CTICU to the Cardiac Surgery Step-down Unit prior to discharge to home.
When community and other hospitals require expertise or technology not available in their own ICUs, they transfer cardiac patients to Virinchi Hospital’s CTICU. As part of the Healthcare system, the CTICU shares its knowledge and skill to improve the care in our community, the region and the world.
Transplant ICU
The transplant ICU at Virinchi Hospitals has an immensely trained and experienced team of certified intensivists and competent transplant nurses with extensive experience in organ transplantation. The TICU provides a multidisciplinary approach to caring critically ill patients with end-stage liver diseases, acute alcoholic hepatitis, gastrointestinal bleeding and other complications related to liver disease. Transplant ICU at Virinchi Hospitals offers complete care prior to transplant and post-transplant for patients who need liver, pancreas, kidney, and heart transplant. Sophisticated devices integrated with superior technology are used for patient care.
The transplant ICU is not only for the post-transplant patients, but also for patients with life-threatening complicated health conditions like kidney failure, liver failure, decompensated liver, heart and lung disease and who require precise diagnosis, treatment and care.
Transplant ICU unit has a single room for each patient with all the necessary equipment like breathing machines, intravenous medication pumps, etc. The sophisticated smart ICU is connected to a monitor to monitor blood pressure, oxygen levels, heart rate, and heart rhythm.