Lucknow's SGPGI to launch the first tele-ICU network in UP from December

In a bid to expand the scope and ease of medical aid across Uttar Pradesh, the state's first integrated telemedicine ICU facility will be rolled out in December. Centred at the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) in Lucknow, the network will link 6 district medical colleges in UP to provide state-of-the-art clinical facilities. The system will forge a means for relaying the PGI expertise to patients suffering from serious diseases, in the ICU of the medical college of their own district.

200 beds from 6 Medical Universities to be linked to PGI

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According to Dr RK Dhiman, Director of PGI, the ICU service will be digitally connected to the medical colleges of Gorakhpur, Kanpur, Meerut, Prayagraj, Jhansi and Agra, by the first week of December. Soon, the provision will link all 75 districts. Reportedly, the system will deploy PGI professionals to train doctors of medical colleges established in other cities.

As elaborated in a press release, the PGI experts will also monitor and supervise serious patients admitted to hospitals in other districts. This will include all persons on ventilators or those prescribed complex operations. "In the first phase, around 200 ICU beds from six medical colleges will be connected to PGI. In which 60 beds will be from PGI, 40 beds from Gorakhpur and 20 beds from other medical colleges." the press statement included.

The role of tele-ICUs during coronavirus pandemic

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The concept of tele-ICUs gained prominence in UP during the first wave of coronavirus, last year. Through telephonic and digital platforms, the professionals from PGI helped doctors of other districts to tackle the growing surge of patients. The service also helped to provide general medical aid and counselling to all those who complained about diseases other than COVID-19, circumventing the hurdles of the OPD shutdown.

The upcoming facility is pegged to strengthen the availability and accessibility of expert medical advice. Once the network is set up, it is expected that a large number of patients will be advantaged.

- With inputs from ANI