KEM Hospital Mulls Over Increasing the Number of Beds in its Neonatal Ward

The civic-run major hospital, KEM, will soon be proposing to increase the number of beds in neonatal wards. According to the authority in King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEM), Parel, the number of neonatal ventilators will also be increased as there is a lot of demand for the ventilator support system for neonatal babies. Over 7500 premature babies take birth in the two of the major civic-run hospitals – KEM and Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Sion every year. While around 10 percent of the premature babies die every year in all the civic-run hospitals due to various reasons including low immune system, low birth weight, and infection to name a few, the percentage is high in KEM Hospital.

In KEM Hospital, the percentage of premature babies’ death is around 15 to 20 percent. While there are a handful of ventilators in the hospital, the authority is planning to increase the number of a ventilator in the neonatal ward. Speaking about the proposal, Dr Hemant Deshmukh, Dean of KEM Hospital, said, “The immune system of these babies is low due to which a special care is needed. We already have 55 beds in the neonatal ward but we are thinking to increase the bed count and add more 20 beds. This will help more neonatal babies.”

While KEM hospital sees a footfall of patients from across the country, the waiting list for preterm babies’ intensive care is also more. Cleanliness, hygiene, and safety is the primary part of their neonatal care. He added, “Most of the time, there is a waiting list for the ventilator to the preterm babies. Increase in a number of ventilators for those who are facing chest problem or respiratory problems too will help the number of babies.” In KEM Hospital, one of the major reasons of the neonatal infant death is a congenital anomaly (164 deaths from 2015 till June 2018) followed by premature birth (85 deaths). Less number of infants have died due to infant respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) — 14 neonatal infants and pneumonia — 12 neonatal infants’ death. – DNA India