Udupi: Patients in Udupi district who need beds at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) are set to suffer as it is said that there is acute shortage of beds in the ICU in government and private hospitals.

The demand for the ICU beds has gone up due to the increasing number of Covid-19 cases.

The patients are suffering as the government and private hospitals have failed to accommodate patients in the ICUs. The patients are tired of approaching call centres instituted by the district health and family welfare department, according to sources.

Authorities said that there were nearly 100 ICU beds in the district. While district surgeon Dr Madhusudhan Nayak said that beds in the ICU in the district hospital were not available. All 10 beds had been occupied by patients.

Hussein Kodibengre, who got his relative admitted at the district government hospital, said,”My 72-year-old patient is experiencing severe breathing difficulties. He has undergone an RT-PCR test.

He needs a bed in the ICU. The situation is worsening as private hospitals are expressing helplessness since the beds in the ICU are not vacant.”

Deputy commissioner G Jagadeesha said,”The district has sufficient infrastructure to handle the emergencies. The ICU beds at private hospitals are available.

There are sufficient ICU beds in Kundapura and Karkala government hospitals.”