In order to help critically ill Covid-19 patients, Aster RV Hospital Bangalore in association with Aster Volunteers, the global CSR arm of Aster DM Healthcare, has set up a modular emergency unit to provide immediate care and attention. The unit has been launched with the support of Shri Bagaria Education Trust and Kemwell Biopharma. This unit comes with 5 beds that will be provided to the patients free of cost at Aster RV Hospital in J.P. Nagar on a first-come-first-serve basis.Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies, these modular and mobile emergency units can be used as temporary waiting high dependency beds (HDU) for covid-19 patients who are in dire need of oxygen and other critical services.The module features all requirements of a top end ICU facility. The module is fully integrated and self-contained and just needs to be plugged for operation.With this initiative, Aster RV Hospital aims to further strengthen its healthcare infrastructure and will be able to cater to the needs of several patients who are visiting its facilities during these challenging times. The healthcare group has set up these beds as a service to humanity and will be bearing all the costs with regards to maintenance and supply of liquid oxygen to all the patients as well as the charges for equipment and other logistics. The modular ICU is most effective not only for COVID but also for other health emergencies.Expressing his views on the initiative, Dr. Prashanth N, Chief Operating Officer, Aster RV Hospital, said: “Accessibility to healthcare services is a core focus area for our group and through such initiatives we are aiming to bridge the gap between the healthcare services and the people. COVID-19 has encouraged Indians to be more innovative in terms of medical equipments and facilities and these emergency units are perfect examples of that. These units are not only convenient, but will also help in controlling the contagious disease.”Karan Bagaria of the Bagaria Foundation said, “It is every institution’s responsibility to come forward and help those in need during these difficult times and the need of the hour is to make emergency medical care accessible and affordable to everyone. Right now the battle to save lives takes priority over everything else and we hope this unit will help ease the suffering of patients in need. We also encourage more members of society to come together so that we can overcome this pandemic at the soonest.”With the second wave of COVID 19 wreaking havoc in the country and the number of cases growing at a blistering speed, the medical support infrastructure in the country has come under a severe strain. As the numbers of cases are increasing every day, thousands of patients are seeking emergency treatment.