ICU at Bhadrachalam Area Hospital soon.

More than half-century-old Area Hospital in Bhadrachalam, the State-run major healthcare facility in the vast Bhadrachalam Agency, is poised to get an Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The State Government has sanctioned a 10-bed ICU to the Bhadrachalam Area Hospital, official sources said.

The proposed facility is expected to cater to the critical care needs of the patients with life-threatening conditions in the tribal heartland of Bhadrachalam.

The hospital is frequented by patients from across the Agency are the State and also from the remote tribal hamlets in the border villages of Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

The diagnostic facilities in the hospital were upgraded with the introduction of Elisa reader, cell counter and auto analyser two years ago.

The hospital boasts of a full-fledged laundry unit encompassing a fully automatic washer extractor.

The 100-bed hospital is set to be upgraded into a 200-bed facility once the new building gets ready.

A separate block in the hospital building is being renovated for setting up of the 10-bed ICU at an estimated cost of ₹ 1 crore.

Work on the centralised air-conditioning and oxygen supply system for the ICU are set to begin shortly.

The process for recruiting dedicated staff including specialist medical officers for the proposed Intensive Care Unit has already been initiated.

THE HINDU