West Bengal directs hospitals to display ICU bed availability by category

Kolkata: In a move to improve patient safety and ensure greater transparency in critical care services, the West Bengal health department has directed all government and private hospitals to display the availability of intensive care unit (ICU) beds under different categories at their facilities.

The directive follows a Supreme Court order mandating a standardised display system that indicates the level of ICU facilities available at hospitals. Under the state health department’s instructions, hospitals must assess and classify their ICU beds and display the information at strategic locations across their premises.

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According to the department’s order, ICU beds will be categorised into three levels, with Level 1 further divided into two subcategories based on the availability of ventilators. One category will include ventilator-equipped beds, while the other will comprise beds without ventilators. Levels 2 and 3 will cover ICU beds with the facilities and equipment prescribed for their respective categories.

“All the hospitals have been asked to start the level determination and analysis activities at the earliest. During the determination, they have to comply strictly with features for level 1 ICU beds as these beds are meant for critical patients,” said a state health official. An administrator at IPGMER-SSKM Hospital, the biggest and busiest govt hospital in the state, said they had started categorising the ICU beds so that level 1 conforms to the classification. “We are trying our best to finish our analysis so that we can go ahead with the display,” said a source at IPGMER-SSKM, TOI reported.

According to health department sources, the criteria for Level 1 ICU beds include the space available for each patient, the availability of life-saving equipment and monitoring devices, the nurse-to-patient ratio, and round-the-clock availability of doctors.

Private hospitals are also reviewing their existing arrangements. Subhashis Datta, general manager of operations at Ruby General Hospital, said the hospital had already assessed its ICU beds and the equipment available at each facility but would conduct another review before implementing the display system.

“While we already have our assessment of the type of ICU beds along with the equipment attached, we will be reviewing it again. We will implement the display within a month,” Datta said.

While the classification criteria for Level 1 ICU beds are understood by both government and private hospitals, further discussions may be needed to establish the categorisation of Level 2 and Level 3 beds, sources said.

Hospital administrators have welcomed the initiative, describing it as an important step towards protecting patients’ rights and improving transparency in critical care services.

Rupak Barua, managing director and chief executive officer of Woodlands Hospital, said the hospital would assess its ICU facilities and begin displaying the relevant information as soon as possible. “We have started our discussion on this,” he said.

Speaking to TOI, sources said some private hospitals, particularly smaller nursing homes, claim to have ICU beds. But in many cases, they do not have the requisite equipment like a ventilator. “We will be requesting all our members to implement this mandate for transparency as well as patient safety and rights,” said physician Rajib Pandey, who is also the secretary of the Association of Private Hospitals and Nursing Homes.

Large government and private hospitals in Kolkata typically have between 80 and 150 ICU beds per facility, highlighting the importance of a clear system for identifying the level of care available.

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