The Supreme Court has endorsed a set of uniform guidelines for intensive care units (ICUs), proposing that stabilised patients requiring no further organ support or physiological monitoring be discharged or moved to hospital wards. The document highlighted the trauma experienced by patients’ relatives, who often lack knowledge about ICU care and rely solely on doctors’ advice. (PTI/Representational Image) The guidelines were part of a report, drafted by a three-member committee and vetted by medical experts, was endorsed by the court on April 20 as “practical, implementable, and necessary as a minimum standard for an ICU.” A bench of justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R Mahadevan directed states and Union territories to formulate an action plan identifying five core areas from the document and a methodology for implementation by May 18. The document highlighted the trauma experienced by patients’ relatives, who often lack knowledge about ICU care and rely solely on doctors’ advice to prolong the stay, as a key reason for the new proposals. The document, titled “Guidelines for Organisation and Delivery of Intensive Care Services,” …