By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: Preparations are on in full swing for the five-day 14th international Congress of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine,(ISCCM), to be organized here at Bhopal from February 13 to 17.
Around 1500 delegates from India and abroad will be attending this international meet. About 28 international faculties from various countries and more than 100 best national faculties will be the main attraction and contributors of this mega event. Bhopal chapter of Critical care Medicine is organizing this conference.
According to Dr. Ajay Goenka, president of ISCCM Bhopal chapter, Criticare-2008 has been designed to present updated information about the progress in critical care medicine world-wide.
The theme of CRITICARE-2008 “Evidence Guidelines and Enforcement” was chosen to overcome the challenges of new millennium, to discuss the existing details and find out ways to overcome the shortcomings associated with these three most important connecting links for improved outcome.
Dr. Farokh E. Udwadia, who is considered as father of Critical Care in India, from Breeze Candy Hospital Mumbai, will be delivering a lecture on the theme of the conference.
Over a period of five days eminent world leaders in the field of critical care as well as many veterans from India will deliberate world wide progress in this super-specialty as well as shortcomings in the field of Critical Care Medicine. A two-day workshop would begin on February 13 and cover subjects such as airway management, intensive care nutrition and infection control.
The foundation stone of Critical Care Medicine in India was laid down in 1970s and ISCCM was established in the year 1993. It is now the apex body of more than 3000 intensive care practitioners and has more than 30 city branches in India. In a short span of time it has grown and progressed to have varied activities world-wide. The society publishes “Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine” also.
ISCCM organizes national conference every year and this is the first time that this conference is being conducted in the central Indian state Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal. The conference of this magnitude is being organized for the first time in the history of Madhya Pradesh.
It may be mentioned here that Critical Care practices in India have evolved significantly over the past decade. Critical care initially began as a service in major hospitals, but with the formation of the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine the development of this specialty has been very rapid.
Regular conferences, updates, continuing medical education programmes and workshops have emerged, and post-doctoral training programmes have been developed. Future challenges include the development of guidelines, the consolidation of training activities and research on the outcome of critical tropical problems. The current practice of critical care in India is a matter of as much diversity as the country itself. There are three types of hospitals in India that are delivering patient care in India.
Community hospitals are mostly run by the government and essentially result in no cost to the patients. Critical care is a branch that involves a lot of technology and, therefore, is dependent on finances. Hence, there have been limitations to the growth of this branch in community hospitals.
There are currently about 200 medical colleges with hospitals attached to them in India. Additionally, there are more than 1000 district hospitals. Only a small proportion (10 per cent) of all these hospitals, however, will boast properly equipped or staffed intensive care units (ICUs). These hospitals thus contribute only a small proportion of the available ICU facilities. Private tertiary care hospitals are managed by societies, trusts or companies. Patients are levied a charge for these services that is proportional to their income; there are also a small percentage of beds that are provided for free.
As per the current estimate, 85 per cent of patients are self-paying. ICUs in private tertiary care hospitals are usually very well equipped and thus form the most major contributor to the critical care facilities in the country, albeit at a higher cost to the patient. Finally, an interesting segment of health care facilities in India consists of small hospitals or nursing homes.
Modestly equipped, and managed mostly by medical professionals themselves, these are realities representing the vast middle and lower classes, and they contribute about 40 per cent of available beds for the country. The patients also usually pay for the services here. The need and the viability of facilities for critical care are being acknowledged by this segment, and currently the facilities are on the upswing. ([email protected])