Pune: ICU Pressure Mounts, Sassoon Asks Hospitals to Verify Bed Availability Before Referrals

Pune, 2nd September 2026: With critically ill patients increasingly being referred to Sassoon General Hospital when ICU beds are already occupied, the hospital administration has appealed to referring doctors and relatives to check bed availability before bringing patients to the facility. A dedicated helpline, 9225330535, has been provided to help confirm the availability of ICU beds.

The appeal comes amid mounting pressure on the hospital’s intensive care services, with five to six critically ill patients routinely waiting for an ICU bed on a typical day. Sassoon General Hospital, attached to BJ Government Medical College, is a major tertiary-care centre catering to patients from Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad and several neighbouring districts.

Medical Superintendent Dr Yallapa Jadhav said the hospital has more ICU beds than the number prescribed by the National Medical Commission, but the demand for critical care continues to remain high. “We request hospitals and doctors to verify availability beforehand to avoid last-minute chaos and ensure timely care,” he said.

The hospital receives critically ill patients referred from hospitals across Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, as well as districts including Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur, Ahilyanagar and Beed. The referrals add to the existing patient load at a hospital that sees an average of 1,629 patients in its outpatient department every day, while around 1,036 patients are admitted to its inpatient wards.

Dean Dr Eknath Pawar said critically ill patients are often referred at the last minute, when ICU beds are occupied by patients already undergoing treatment at Sassoon. This leaves the hospital with little scope to accommodate emergency referrals immediately, he said.

To address the pressure, the hospital has submitted a proposal to the state government seeking 60 additional ICU beds — 40 medical ICU beds and 20 surgical ICU beds — along with additional doctors and nursing staff.

The proposed expansion is intended to improve the handling of emergency referrals, ease overcrowding and make ICU bed allocation more systematic.