Whats New Icon
Email FAQs
Book appointment
Give to CMC
Book appointment
Give to CMC


Critical Care Medicine

Journey of Critical Care in CMC:

The post-operative neuro intensive care unit was the first intensive care unit established in CMC Vellore. Every neurosurgery ward was equipped with an integrated postoperative intensive care unit beginning in 1952, under the headship of Dr. Jacob Chandy. Until 1995, when a separate cadre for Neurocritical Care was established, each admitting unit was responsible for managing its patients in the Neuro-Intensive Care Unit.
A department of chest diseases was established at CMC Vellore in 1972 under the direction of Dr. Debidas Ray. This department was established in response to the demand for respiratory treatment for patients after cardiac surgery. For those passionate about respiratory care, these were really exciting times. CMC was able to acquire all the necessary equipment and knowledge to establish the foundation of respiratory and critical care as well as research thanks to the fast-expanding repertory of diagnostic technology that became available. For clinical services, the Poulton spirometer, the Steadwell spirometer, the Astrup pH-meter, rigid and flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopes, and other instruments were readily available and frequently utilised. These instruments were utilised in the department of thoracic surgery as well as in the clinic. During the medical care that was provided to patients, ventilators were utilised, and all the medical units that were on a roster contributed to the manpower that was required. Following Dr. Ray’s departure in 1992, the Department of Chest Medicine was incorporated into Medicine Unit 2, and ventilators were moved to Medicine Unit 3. A subspecialty of medical critical care was then established under the direction of Dr George John.
The initiation of surgical critical care in 1989 marked the beginning of a journey of progress and development. The 12-bed unit, connected to the main operation theatre complex recovery room, was the brainchild of Dr. Nandini Korula, Dr. Prakash Khanduri, and Dr. Nagamani Sen. With the assistance of surgical trainees and personnel from the Anaesthesiology department, the unit evolved into a level III ICU with dedicated personnel, mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, and advanced haemodynamic monitoring. These facilities were added gradually, symbolizing the unit’s steady growth and development. 
Department of Critical Care

The administration formally approved the Department of Critical Care in 2002, which was a merger of the Medical, Neurological, Paediatric, and Surgical Intensive Care Units. Dr. Chellam Kirubakaran served as its first head. The department has expanded its services, bed capacity, training, and research offerings at a rapid pace over the years. At present, the Department of Critical Care is divided into three units: Medical, Neuro, and Surgical Critical Care. Following Dr Chellam’s retirement, Paediatric Intensive Care Services came under the Department of Paediatrics and runs its own training programme.
Currently, the department has a combined strength of 133 level III ICU beds (with a capacity to expand up to 174, based on institutional needs), with 5000-7000 admissions annually (2021-2023). All advanced critical care services, including, but not limited to, advanced hemodynamic monitoring, mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, intracranial pressure monitoring, management of postoperative stay for liver and renal transplant, ECMO and IABP are available in the department at present.
The department has 15 full-time teaching faculty, including six professors. The teaching program comprises the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR University and NMC-accredited DM Critical Care course (5 seats per year), the institutional post-doctoral fellowship in critical care (5 seats per year), and the Indian Diploma in Critical Care Medicine (8 seats per year) for specialized training in critical care for physicians, anesthesiologists and pulmonologists. The department also runs a BSc Critical Care course for ICU technicians and currently has 30 students on the roster. In addition, the department runs BLS and ACLS training for other healthcare personnel in the institution, manages the CART (cardiac arrest and resuscitation) services in the hospital. The department is also a recognized centre for training for the Fellowship of the Australian College of Intensive Care Medicine. 

Medical Critical Care:
From its humble beginnings as a 2-bed unit in the E-ward classroom, the Medical ICU expanded to an 11-bed unit in its current location in the Town Campus in the 1990s. In 2008, the unit expanded further to a 12-bed level III and a 12-bed High Dependency Unit. By 2020, during the peak of the COVID pandemic, two 12-bed pods in the Ranipet campus were opened even before the complete construction of the campus. Currently, the medical critical team manages the 12-bed medical intensive care unit (MICU) and 12-bed high dependency unit (MHDU) in the town campus as well as the Ranipet Medical ICU, which includes a 12-bed private ICU (Pod 4), 12-bed general ICU (Pod 3), 12-bed HDU (Pod 2) and a 15-bed step-down unit (Pod 5). The number of medical critical care admissions in 2022-23 was 2734. The unit supports critically ill patients from all medical specialities on both campuses and provides mechanical ventilation, advanced hemodynamic monitoring and management, ECMO, RRT, bedside fiberoptic bronchoscopy and percutaneous tracheostomy, in addition to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) guided assessment of cardio-respiratory function and invasive line placement. There are 11 isolation rooms with HEPA filters in the Ranipet campus, including 6 in the private ICU, which are mainly used for the care of post-allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients. 
Surgical Critical Care:
The Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) was started in the year 1989 as a 12 bedded unit as an extension to the recovery room of the main operating theatre complex to manage sick patients who may be admitted from both the operation theatres as well as other portals of entry such as the emergency department and surgical inpatient wards. The SICU started with 5 ventilators and 3 cardiac monitors. The unit gradually improved; renal replacement therapy started here in 1993. The present unit is now a Level III unit with 13 beds, including 3 isolation beds.
A High Dependency Unit (HDU) was added as a 3-bedded unit in 2006. It has gradually evolved into a 9-bed unit with 3 isolation beds. It functions as a level II unit but with a full-time resident doctor. With the opening of the Ranipet Campus in CMC, an 18-bedded level III Trauma ICU has been opened to cater to the needs of trauma services as well as surgical speciality departments based in the Ranipet Campus.
Neuro-critical care:
In 1995, the post-operative neurocritical care beds in CMC were combined to form a 12-bed Neuro-ICU in the N2 ward area. The next year, 6 additional level II beds were opened as Neuro-HDU (the first high-dependency unit in CMC). Four additional neurotrauma beds (NTICU) were added in 2012, and the NHDU expanded to a total capacity of 12. When the Department of Neurosciences moved to the Ranipet campus in 2022, the Neuro-ICU unit shifted to a 38-bed facility as a combination of level II and level III care. 

History of the Training Programmes under the Department of Critical Care: 

Diploma in Critical Care 1997
In 1997, the Diploma in Critical Care for training of technicians was started with a view to train allied health personnel who were focused on the care of a critically ill patient. 


Post Doctoral Fellowship program in Critical Care 2006
After the Department came together, a 2-year Post Doctoral Fellowship program in Critical Care was started in 2006 for trainees following completion of MD Medicine, Anaesthesia, Emergency Department and Respiratory Medicine. Currently, we have 5 Post doctoral fellowship seats.


Fellowship of the College of Intensive Care Medicine (FCICM) 2010
The department received accreditation from the College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM, Australia and New Zealand) as a certified centre for training, in 2010 towards the Fellowship of the College of Intensive Care Medicine (FCICM) with Dr George John and Dr Peter John Victor, both FCICM graduates, as the initial Director and Supervisor of Training towards this course. Following this recognition, Dr Binila Chacko and Dr Pritish Korula (former SICU faculty) have completed their FCICM training. Currently, Dr Peter John Victor is the course director and Dr Binila Chacko is the Supervisor of Training towards this course.


BSc Critical Care Technology 2012
In 2012, it was felt that the scope of the B. Sc respiratory therapy course, which was already in existence, was broader than critical care. This course included pulmonary function tests, sleep lab, and allergy testing, which were not necessary for a technical person who was to work exclusively in the intensive care unit. The Department of Critical Care at CMC Vellore hence submitted a request to the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University to create a new course, BSc Critical Care Technology, to provide training to allied health personnel who were responsible for the care of critically ill patients. Currently, Mr Sam Prabhakaran from Medical ICU and Mr Baskaran from Surgical ICU are the course co-ordinators and Dr Thomas Isaiah and Dr Dhanoop Varghese are the faculty in charge of this course.


DM Critical Care 2015
The Medical Council of India (MCI) approved one DM seat for Critical Care Medicine on 21.9.2015. The PG Expert Group and the Board of Governors have recommended the recognition of this DM Critical Care seat on 11.2.2019, following the MCI inspection during the examination of the first candidate in August-2018. At this stage, Christian Medical College Vellore was the only college under the Tamil Nadu MGR university with this MCI recognised degree. From December 2020, the number of seats in the DM Critical Care program was increased from one to five. The initial cohort of five students successfully completed their course in January 2024.


IDCCM and IFCCM
In addition, the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISSCM) has acknowledged the Department for its 1-year Diploma course (IDCCM) and 2-year fellowship (IFCCM) programme. Furthermore, candidates have the option to enrol in the European Diploma in Intensive Care (EDIC) program after spending a year at the Department.


Current trainees:

At present there are 15 candidates enrolled for DM Critical Care Medicine, 5 for PDF (Post-doctoral fellowship in critical care), 5 for IDCCM and 30 ICU technician trainees for BSc in Critical Care Technology. 

Associate Professors

Contact Information

Address :

Department of Critical Care

Christian Medical College Vellore

Ida Scudder Road,

Vellore – 632004

Tamil Nadu, India

Email us :

micu@cmcvellore.ac.in

Reach us :

04162282693

Working hours :

Mon-Fri: 8 am to 4.30 pm

( Sat : 8 am to 12:30 pm)