KOLKATA: A Kolkata hospital has found an innovative way to beat the traffic and rush critically ill patients to intensive care. Desun Hospital will inaugurate a rooftop helipad on Friday where emergency patients will be flown in. Desun will be the first hospital in Kolkata to introduce the service.
It took nearly two years to create the helipad on the rooftop of its new annexe II building for the use of air ambulances.
Saif Ali Khan Health Update
It will ferry burn and emergency patients from remote corners of Bengal and neighbouring states to the hospital. A dummy run will be conducted with a helicopter that will fly from the Behala Flying Club and land at the helipad on Friday.
“The new building will have 450 beds, including 120 ICU beds. We plan to fly in patients from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and from our Siliguri unit,” said Desun director Shaoli Dutta.
Currently, the only option that intra-city patients have are green channels that have been used on several occasions. Multiple city hospitals have used green channels several times to ferry organs for transplantation and critical patients with the help of Kolkata Police since 2018.
“This will enable us to address emergency and critical cases faster. Previously, patients transported by air ambulance would land at the Kolkata airport and then be taken to our hospital by road. Our new helipad will streamline this process, allowing for quicker transfers and ultimately better patient care. We are grateful to have received permission from the DGCA,” said Dutta.
While some hospitals hailed the move and described it as a step in the right direction, others felt it could be ‘logistically impractical’. “Air ambulance can be a lifeline for many patients who can avail of this service. This is the first such service in east India and I believe this is gouing to be a success,” said Prashant Sharma, chairman of ICC Healthcare wing and also the MD of Charnock Hospital.
“This is a pioneering move and will help save lives. Several hospitals outside Bengal have helipads, and it is time we had a few as well. Hopefully, the cost will be affordable,” said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra.
If efficiently managed, this could be a game-changer for the city’s healthcare service, said Woodlands Hospital CEO Rupak Barua, also the president of the Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI). “This will allow quick transportation of critical patients without having to depend solely on green corridors. Let’s hope that more city hospitals will have helipads in the near future,” added Barua.
A head of a hospital chain said the helipad could turn out to be a showpiece and an ‘impractical investment’. “There are so many agencies involved in getting the air ambulance service to work that it is likely to be a logistical nightmare. While it sounds good, it is a better idea to invest in something that would be more easily accessible and benefit more patients,” he said.
