Philips introduces mobile ICUs for India to fight against COVID-19

India: Global health technology major Royal Philips on Tuesday said it has introduced mobile intensive care units (ICUs) for India to address the challenging needs of critical-care services in the country.

Designed to meet the critical-care requirements of patients, each pre-fabricated ICU has a capacity for nine beds and will be locally manufactured by Philips in India, it said in a statement.

Each ICU unit can be assembled in one day at the chosen site. These portable ICUs will be helpful to government agencies and organisations looking to enhance community outreach and to mitigate the impact of natural disasters and pandemics like the ongoing COVID-19, it added.

When asked about the cost of a mobile nine-bed ICU, Philips India told PTI in an e-mailed response, "Price of a pre-fabricated 9-bed ICU begins from 1 crore approximately and can be customized further depending upon the requirement from the customer".

The company will be directly selling them to the hospitals, it added.

"Aligned with the government's commitment to providing quality and accessible healthcare to the population in our country, we are proud to introduce our state-of-the-art mobile ICUs for India," Philips Indian Subcontinent Vice Chairman and MD Daniel Mazon said.

The company believes that this solution will help the country to tackle COVID-19 in an effective manner as it enables healthcare institutions to increase their bedding capacities, he added.

"Additionally, this solution will be significant in the long term to address critical care requirements," Mazon said.

Spread over an area of 1,380 square feet, these self-sufficient units require only electricity and water connection at site to become operational, Philips said.

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