Centre for Health and Development

Enhancing ICU bed capacity

CURRENT IMPACT

As on August 2023

4000+

patients treated

60%

average increase in the critical care capacity across 17 locations

170

ICU bed installations across India.

Geographical Focus
  • PAN India
Potential Impact
  • Reach

    24,000

    lives

Samridh support

With a vision to strengthen pandemic preparedness, SAMRIDH is supporting CHD Group, under ‘Mission ICU’, to expand the ICU bed capacity in rural India. The financial assistance from SAMRIDH is enabling CHD to cover the operational expenses associated with the setting up and management of 200 beds (30% ICU & 70% enhanced critical care) and also ensuring better utilisation of the grant funding from multilateral donors. Mission ICU is dedicated to bridging critical care gap in rural areas and support under-resourced hospitals across the country.

0.5

Hospital beds available per 1000 people in
India [1]

78%

More medical specialists are required at government hospitals [2]

80%

Of ICU beds are concentrated in metropolitan cities of India [3]

India has one of the lowest hospital beds capacity in the world, and bridging the gap for providing critical care has been a longstanding challenge. Moreover, the availability of ICU beds continues to be concentrated in Tier 1 cities, further exacerbating the urban–rural gap in healthcare infrastructure. This gap was further highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, when 50% of cases were reported from rural India and they lacked the health infrastructure to cater to the needs.

Enhancing ICU bed capacity

To strengthen critical health infrastructure care for rural India, CHD Group’s Mission ICU is a social collaborative initiative aimed at bolstering existing ICU capacity in tier 2 and tier 3 cities across the country. CHD is identifying 20 hospitals in tier 2 and 3 cities PAN India, to screen them for capacity, medical teams, space, and capability to manage Intensive Care facilities. Hospitals that meet the prerequisite criteria will be supported by CHD for up to 10 additional ICU beds. This will have a long-term impact on the healthcare system by increasing the potential to prepare for future emergencies.

Resources