MedIndia Hospitals and Academy has announced the launch of an affordable, multispecialty intensive care unit (ICU) to cater to the needs of patients from poor economic backgrounds. The ICU is expected to begin functioning by July 15.

On the sidelines of a continuing medical education (CME) programme, ‘GPS Meet 1.0’, held on Saturday, T.S. Chandrasekar, founder-chairman and chief gastroenterologist at the hospital, said that with the high burden of non-communicable diseases and comorbid conditions in the country and advancing age, there is a need for multi-specialty ICUs.

Chennai, with its approximately 1 crore population, has around 11,000 to 15,000 hospital beds, of which about 8% to 15% are ICU beds. Of these, only 500 to 900 are affordable and these are mostly in the government sector, indicating a substantial demand, he said.

MedIndia’s ICU, developed through the assistance of philanthropic donations and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, would cover the specialties of cardiology, pulmonology, neurology, gastroenterology, diabetology, and septic-related complications, Dr. Chandrasekar said.

The goal is to ensure quality care, with state-of-the-art equipment, starting from the ‘golden hour’ period, he added.