THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Bumrungrad ready to offer ICU care 24-hours a day

Bumrungrad ready to offer ICU care 24-hours a day

There is a fine line between saving a life and losing a patient, and sometimes it can be a matter of seconds. Hence, in order to save more lives, Bumrungrad International Hospital’s critical care team will be providing ICU care round the clock, seven days a week. 
“Treating critically ill patients is of extraordinary importance and the strength of Bumrungrad International Hospital. Every day, we accept patients transferred from inside and outside Thailand to continue their course of treatment with our experts,” says Dr Winyou Ratanachai, Bumrungrad’s chief medical officer. 
According to Sukanya Ratanakulchaiwat, director of the critical care and emergency services of Bumrungrad: “There are 12,000 to 14,000 ICU patients at Bumrungrad each year – averaging at five to 10 ICU patients per day. In 2018, 52 per cent of the ICU patients were non-Thai. Among the non-Thais, 16 per cent were Thai residents, while the remainder had come to Thailand for treatment. Bumrungrad is planning to expand its ICU capacity in the next few years to serve more patients. We are known for our patient-centred care, so a lot of patients choose to be transferred to us from 50 partner hospitals across Thailand and overseas. The most common reasons are respiratory disease, heart disease and brain disorders. These are also the top three causes of ICU deaths.” 
Dr Worakij Chalermskulrat, chief of critical care medicine and pulmonology at the hospital reveals: “ICU patients are divided into two general types: patients with acute life-threatening conditions, such as heart failure, respiratory conditions, dangerously low blood pressure, kidney failure, or other organ failures who are likely to get worse or patients with acute gastrointestinal bleeding. Equipment, like ventilators, dialysis machines, ventricular-assisted devices and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation are employed immediately to replace or support the failing organs. We also provide every ICU patient with a vital signs monitor.
“Each ICU patient at Bumrungrad is taken care of by a team of physicians certified by the American Board of Critical Care Medicine, who collaborate with specialists and ICU nurses working closely with medical teams both inside and outside the ICU. The patients are monitored 24 hours a day. We always focus on patient safety first.” 
Bumrungrad has 63 ICU beds accounting for 12 per cent of the 580 beds in the hospital, compared to the average of 8-10 per cent at other hospitals.

nationthailand