Mission ICU – a social initiative focused on improving the critical healthcare infrastructure in the country, started a 10-bedded ICU facility in the district hospital at Tamenglong in Manipur
The ICU facility was setup with the support of Kantar to address the pressing needs of district and sub-district hospitals. This initiative is a step towards bolstering the critical care infrastructure across hospitals in dire need of assistance amid the impending fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mission ICU has already completed installation of 100 ICU beds across the country and will now be working with the district hospitals in Northeast states of India, to improve the critical healthcare infrastructure, starting with Tamenglong.
Speaking about this initiative, Maanoj Shah, co-founder of Mission ICU said: “Our aim is to create a sustainable impact that lasts beyond COVID-19, by equipping public hospitals with state-of-the-art ICU bed facilities. With implementation of robust infrastructure at the heart of our organization, Mission ICU has already been successful in installing 100 ICU beds across the country. We are also thankful for the support of our partner, Kantar who has helped us previously in setting up ICU bed facilities in Gadag (Karnataka) and Nabarangpur (Odisha).”
“From a commitment of one location, we have come a long way, with Tamenglong being the third project as part of this partnership! We are further amplifying our operations this time with focus on the Northeast states of India, starting with Tamenglong in Manipur and thereafter a few other districts so that in future any other healthcare crises doesn’t have to be brutal for hospitals already under pressure,” Shah added.
Preeti Reddy, chairwoman- insights division, South Asia at Kantar said: “Mission ICU has been at the forefront of improving the critical healthcare infrastructure in the remotest parts of India. I must congratulate the team on completing installation of the new 10-ICU beds facility in Tamenglong, Manipur – the 11th facility they have installed. Mission ICU’s efforts are aligned with Kantar’s vision of improving the lives of those without access to life-saving healthcare. We are proud to be associated with Mission ICU’s commendable work and wish the team success in their endeavors.”
The location was shortlisted after a detailed study of the state of medical infrastructure in several districts of Manipur. A due diligence form was sent to the district surgeon/civil surgeon to comprehend the condition of all district and subdistrict hospitals following which Tamenglong was found to be most eligible to receive assistance as the current critical care infrastructure is inadequate in capacity, a press statement said.
The new critical care facility installed by Mission ICU increased the critical care capacity by 200 per cent. Through this set up, Mission ICU would also extend support to the sub-district hospital in Tamenglong, and as sub-district hospitals are often unsuccessful in obtaining external assistance owing to their lower visibility and Mission ICU aims to bridge this gap with critical care support through this initiative.
Apart from bridging the gap of critical care infrastructure in under-resourced rural hospitals, Mission ICU is also working towards the ‘ICU Mapping Project’ that will focus on mapping the critical healthcare infrastructure facilities across the country, starting with Northeast states.
“In line with Mission ICU’s philosophy, the aim of this ‘ICU mapping’ initiative is to identify and document the on-ground reality of the current state of critical care healthcare facilities in under-resourced hospital, so as to create a robust long-term plan for sustainable impact, derived from data driven insights,” the statement added.
“We are excited at the prospect of extending our services with the support of Mission ICU, which will help us provide quality critical-care facilities to patients in remote areas like Tamenglong. The new ICU beds would greatly boost the treatment facilities for critical patients and create more confidence in our staff,” said Dr G Majachunglu, CMO, Tamenglong district, Manipur.
Each set of 10 ICU beds facilities costs around Rs 45 lakh. The operational expenditure of Mission ICU is supported by the US Agency for International Development’s (USAID) SAMRIDH Health initiative. The hospitals were shortlisted post verification of numerous factors such as ability to accommodate extra beds, case load during COVID, population ratio and existing medical infrastructure.
