• 35 normal beds to be upgraded into step-down ICUs for critical care
• 24×7 Central Monitoring Cell to monitor multiple patients remotely
• Proposal to be sent for Government approval before implementation

Mysore/Mysuru: The State-run K.R. Hospital, managed by Mysore Medical College and Research Institute (MMC&RI) in the heart of the city, is all set to upgrade 35 normal beds into step-down ICUs to facilitate critical care.

Once implemented, the K.R. Hospital will be one among the first few hospitals in Karnataka to receive this as part of the MillionICU, an initiative that addresses the massive shortage of ICU beds and staff in public hospitals. Trial runs for the initiative are on at the Hospital since September 2021 and the Hospital is gauging the pros and cons of the system. Once the trials are completed, the proposal would be sent to the Government for approval.

There is an appalling shortage of medical staff, lack of health infrastructure, mismanagement and hence, chaos. With over 1:40 nurse to patient ratio, the public healthcare infrastructure is already running in overdrive causing exhaustion of staff, beds without any care and high mortality.

Launched with the aim of enabling public hospitals to tide over the current COVID-19 crisis in the short-term and bring about a rapid, long-term transformation in India’s public healthcare infrastructure, the MillionICU initiative will help upgrade critical care infrastructure in Government Hospitals.

This apart, a 24×7 Central Monitoring Cell will be set up at the K.R. Hospital to enable healthcare staff to monitor multiple patients remotely, from Gynaecology and Surgical ICU Departments, who were previously monitored manually only every couple of hours.

The Cell will come up at the teaching hospital of MMC&RI on a trial basis and the process has been given a head start.

Upgrading critical health infrastructure

The MillionICU initiative is an effort to leapfrog the critical health infrastructure and empower Government Hospitals with step-down ICU beds. The initiative aims to dramatically increase the number of HDUs with centralised patient monitoring at the Hospital and make critical care more easily accessible and available to the needy, when they need it the most.

The initiative has been launched by Dozee, a contactless remote health monitoring start-up. Dozee was started in 2015 by IIT graduates Mudit Dandwate and Gaurav Parchani.

“We are implementing the process as part of the trial run and the equipment supplied by Dozeee will be with us for the next two to three months and once we are satisfied with the process, we will send the proposal to the Government. If it is approved, the K.R. Hospital will purchase the system,”  K.R. Hospital Medical Superintendent Nanjundaswamy told Star of Mysore.

AI-powered triaging system

Dozee’s contactless sensors feature an AI-powered triaging system that enables continuous (more than 100 times per hour) and accurate monitoring of a patient’s heart rate, respiratory rate, and other clinical parameters like sleep apnea and myocardial performance metrics without coming in contact with the patient.

Under the initiative, hospital beds will be installed with the Central Monitoring Cell which will help in saving crucial nursing hours and on an average, Dozee saves around 30 min of nursing time per patient per day. The constant stream of patient data aids the medical staff with early detection of patient deterioration and notifies the care team of any abnormalities before it becomes critical.

Custom alerts

Custom alerts can be set for every patient, helping doctors optimise treatment plans, focus on deteriorating patients and provide improved proactive care.

“Dozee is helping us to upgrade the step-down ICU infrastructure and we are already seeing the benefits of the deployment. We are happy to now serve more patients and have a greater impact on their recoveries while keeping themselves safe and saving precious time,” said MMC&RI Dean and Director Dr. C.P. Nanjaraj.

Adopting newer technologies

“Learning from the experience of dealing with COVID pandemic, hospitals across the country are now preparing to monitor a large number of patients in real-time. Hospitals are looking for newer technologies that can cover more patients for monitoring and treatment, helping healthcare workers manage time and resources better.  In Karnataka, the MillionICU has upgraded Victoria Hospital, Charaka Hospital, Jayanagar General Hospital, Mysore District Hospital, BRIMS Bidar, KIMS Hubballi and SIMS Shivamogga and plans to install 500 more healthcare devices in the coming months.

Dr. H.G. Manjunath from the Department of Anaesthesiology, Prof. Suneetha, HoD, Department of Medicine and Dozee CEO and Co-Founder Mudit Dandwate were present during the launch of the initiative.