Critical Care

The hospital has 63 adult intensive care beds in six general medical-surgical ICUs. The ICUs admit patients who are critically ill or those who require intensive monitoring. These include patients across the spectrum of medicine and surgery, including life threatening medical emergencies, and patients undergoing complex or high-risk surgery and those undergoing interventional procedures. The ICUs have all the modern equipment needed to monitor and manage patients requiring life support. Additionally the ICU coordinates closely with other departments like radiology, laboratory medicine, blood bank, operation theaters and physiotherapy and rehabilitation. This ensures efficient delivery of intensive care to the critically ill patients. There are isolation beds for vulnerable patients and for those with transmissible infections. The ICU cares for approximately 4,000-4,500 patients per year.

The ICU relative waiting area has facilities for relative to sleep, as well as washroom facilities and a facility is available for meals and beverages in the lobby.

The department also runs the Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) team and the Rapid Response Team (RRT) for the hospital. Both were the first of their kind in Mumbai & India.

The ICU personnel consist of 5 consultants, 4 associate consultants, 30 postgraduate clinical assistants, 20 respiratory technicians and 215 nurses. There is 24-hour cover with 8 clinical associates or associate consultants on site at any point of time. The nurse to patient ratio varies from 1:1.35 to 1:2.5 with an additional Head Sister or Nurse per ICU wing in the day shifts

The department is recognized as a training center for the Certification & Diploma courses in Intensive Care by the ISCCM and for the Doctorate in Critical Care by the National Boards. The European Society of Intensive Care, through the ISCCM, has recognized the training in the department to be acceptable for the European Diploma in Intensive Care. The ICU and hospital offers a 6 months Continuing Education Program in Critical Care Nursing to nurses who have qualified with a 3-year Diploma in Nursing & Midwifery. There are also training courses for Respiratory Technicians (by ISCCM) and ICU technicians (Govt. of Maharashtra). The department has regular academic teaching sessions for trainees. The department has been actively involved in research projects and has multiple publications at a local national and international level.

The Hinduja Hospital department of critical care was one of the first departments to have trained and qualified intensivists as consultants managing all ICU patients. Earlier practice patterns were that the ICU in charge did the administrative work and only saw patients when referred to by the admitting consultant. This pattern, of consultant intensivist cover for all ICU admission, is increasingly becoming the norm all over the country.

The department of critical care of Hinduja hospital was at the forefront of many aspects of intensive care in India. The diaspora of intensivists trained in Hinduja Hospital has spread nationally and have played an important role in spreading high standards of Intensive Care in India. The intensive care team created the first Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in the country. Later, the department also created the Rapid Response Team (RRT) to identify and stabilize patients during the early stages of an emergency.

The department of critical care of Hinduja hospital was an active participant in the creation and initiation of the first formal training programs in critical care in the country. Working closely with the Indian Society of Critical Care medicine (ISCCM) & later the National Board (NB), the department played a lead role in establishing and initiating the Indian Diploma in Critical Care Medicine (IDCCM) & later the Fellowship of National Board (FNB) in critical care.

The ICU was one of the early department bringing structured training courses for CPR training to hospital personnel in and out of the ICU. (ALC, ACLS & PALS). Similarly, the department was one of the earliest in the country to use evolving ICU techniques like Non Invasive Ventilation (NIV) & percutaneous tracheostomy.

The ICU has among the most experienced and senior faculty of any critical care department in the country with an average of > 30 years experience.