Healthcare firm CIPACA seeks to address skill gap in ICU care

Chennai-based healthcare firm Chennai Interventional Pulmonology and Critical Care Associates (P) Ltd (CIPACA), specialising in setting up and management of ICU operations in hospitals, has embarked on a training mission to skill doctors in critical care, particularly in rural areas.

CIPACA offers training to doctors from rural areas through its one-year programme in critical care, recognised by the Indian Medical Association. The first batch of doctors have completed training and have been deployed in hospitals in smaller towns across Tamil Nadu.

Now the firm is in the final stages of talks with the UK-based Physicians’ Associations to offer a Masters programme in critical care in the country. “Currently, the number of ICU doctors available in India is inadequate. , Even in big metros, only about 10 per cent of the hospitals have ICU-qualified doctors. We are keen to address this gap,” says Raja Amarnath, Managing Director, CIPACA.

Direct course after MBBS

For plastic or neuro surgery, for instance, there is a direct course one can do after MBBS. But there is no such course for critical care. This is where CIPACA seeks to play a big role, particularly in the rural and semi-urban markets, he explained.

“We want to bring critical care as a direct course after MBBS. We offer comprehensive training to doctors through a structured programme, recognised by the UK-based physicians body,” said Amarnath.

Also read: On a mission to take ‘drop-in ICUs’ to every taluk

Talking about the association with CIPACA, CN Raja, National Vice-President, IMA, said, “Quality critical care is no longer a distant dream but accessible and affordable for the common man.”

Backed by telemedicine system and a panel of medical experts in big cities, the CIPACA model seeks to provide a platform and system to deliver quality services, including emergency care, in rural areas. Since its inception, CIPACA has teamed up with hospitals across Tamil Nadu to save thousands of lives by providing emergency care during the golden hour.