Pune: The civic body is expected to introduce over the next two months an online dashboard that will display real-time bed availability in private hospitals to ensure patients and their families have instant access to the said information, helping reduce delays in admission.The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)’s health department took the decision after corporators raised the issue at a recent general body meeting and said patients were being denied admission in private hospitals due to unavailability of inpatient beds, particularly in intensive care units.PMC assistant health officer Dr Suryakant Devkar said, “Social organisations, citizens and elected representatives have repeatedly expressed grievances about confusion on bed availability. We have proposed a digital solution to the information technology department to address the concerns. We had the first meeting on Wednesday and will take it forward once we work out the details.”The proposed dashboard would be on the lines of the bed‑availability system developed during the Covid‑19 pandemic. “It will cover 180 private hospitals and 20 municipal maternity homes initially, providing updated information on bed status at each facility. Patients and their kin can view the data on their cellphones and displayed on digital displays at hospital entrances, enabling families to take quick decisions on where to seek care,” he said.The authorities decided to adopt the technology‑based monitoring system due to shortage of staff in the health department to verify each complaint. Under the plan, hospitals would be mandated to update bed‑availability data daily or as required, added Devkar.PMC officials would within two weeks meet senior personnel from major city hospitals to finalise the dashboard’s operating procedures, responsibilities for updates, technical specifications and regulatory framework. The PMC IT department would incorporate feedback from the said meeting and develop the dedicated digital platform to be rolled out over the next one to two months.Devkar said the dashboard would prioritise ICU transparency, general treatment and maternity beds to ensure patients receive timely information during critical moments.
