Eleven-year-old Yuvan Shankar does not remember much about his hospital stay when he was admitted for dengue earlier this year. But his father does.
The parent and child were among patients and families who were at the Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital on the occasion of the hospital’s inauguration if its renovated paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) on Monday.
Renovated at a cost of ₹2.4 crore, the K.S. Narayanan Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, named in memory of the founder-chairman of the Sanmar Group, is a state-of-the-art facility, said hospital chairman A.C. Muthiah, thanking the donors.
Comfort and safety
Detailing the facilities at the PICU, head of the department of intensive care and emergency medicine B. Ramachandran said it was designed keeping patient comfort and safety in mind. The renovated PICU has 21 beds. It is a spacious facility with a lot of natural light, and this will be beneficial to the well-being of both patients and the staff, he said.
The PICU now meets the guidelines of several international bodies, he said. With child-friendly images and dimmable LED lights among its other facilities, the ICU took seven months to renovate, he said.
It has mechanical ventilation, non-invasive ventilation, dialysis and ECMO (extra corporeal membrane oxygenation) among its facilties, Dr. Ramachandran said. Approximately 1,400 patients were admitted to it every year, for a variety of causes including head injuries, cancers, serious infections and after major surgeries, he added.
Chief guest, S.N. Subrahmanyan, CEO, L&T, Mumbai, said since it was healthy children who became healthy adults and formed the society and country, this was an important cause.