Berhampur, April 23: The process to open a full-fledged intensive care unit (ICU) at MKCG Medical College and Hospital has begun.

The hospital caters to the needs of people in 10 southern districts,

“It is very surprising that there is no central ICU at MKCG,” said Bikash Chandra Mahapatra, revenue divisional commissioner, southern division.

“We have borrowed a design of a 28-bedded Central ICU from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, and are making efforts to set up the ICU as soon as possible. There is no deadline, but I am trying to complete the project as soon as possible,” said Mahapatra, who is also chairman of the Swasthya Bikas Samiti at MKCG.

MKCG Hospital has 1,081 beds in various wards of 21 departments. “A central ICU, intensive therapy or treatment unit is necessary for good health management,” said Dr Ashok Kumar Behera, superintendent of MKCG Hospital.

The head of the department of anaesthesia will be in charge of the central ICU, which will provide service round the clock and have a life support system, Behera said.

The plot for the ICU inside the hospital complex has been identified. The project will start after the administrative approval process is over, official sources at MKCG said. It will take at least two years to implement the project.

The SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack and the VSS Medical College and Hospital at Burla in Sambalpur, two government-run colleges and hospitals, have central ICUs.