COVID-19 Causes ICU Bed Shortage In India; 78 Per Cent Had To Use Clout

New Delhi: Hospitals continue to bear the burden of the COVID-19 surge with people scrambling for beds.

According to a study, 78 per cent had to use connections and clout to get an ICU bed.

Amid complaints that people were unable to find an ICU bed at a government or private hospital, the platform ‘LocalCircles’ conducted a survey on the issue and received over 17,000 responses from citizens located in over 211 districts of the country.

COVID-19 cases in India have reached 54 lakh and over 90,000 cases a day are being detected. There has been a rise in critical cases and a fall in the availability of ICU beds.

LocalCircles says it carried out the survey after receiving many complaints from citizens from across the country about their family friends or associates not being able to find an ICU bed at government or private hospitals.

Thirty-eight per cent said they had to use clout to get an ICU bed while 7 per cent respondents said they had to do extensive follow-ups to secure an ICU bed. Forty per cent had to use connections and do repetitive follow-ups.

While some had to escalate to social media or complain to the government, 7 per cent even had to bribe officials to get a bed.

Only four per cent said they could secure an ICU bed without any of the above.

Another four per cent couldn’t get an ICU bed at all.

The survey also asked citizens if hospitals should list ICU beds availability in real-time. A big 92 per cent agreed to it.

LocalCircles will be submitting a copy of the report to the Health Ministry and chief secretaries of all states for their urgent consideration.