Post-ICU Rehabilitation and Step-Down Care in Bangalore
SENSE Health takes patients directly from the ICU, including critically ill patients who still need oxygen, ventilator support or ICU/HDU-level monitoring. On-site doctors are available 24/7 as an emergency response team, backed by Cloudphysician's intensivists through tele-ICU and Smart ICU monitoring, with a dedicated respiratory therapist 24/7 and daily rehabilitation paced to the person's strength.
Leaving the ICU is a milestone, not the end of the illness. Weakness, swallowing problems, confusion and low mood are common afterwards, and they respond to planned rehabilitation.
What Happens After the ICU
Problems after intensive care are common enough to have a name, post-intensive care syndrome. A systematic review found ICU-acquired weakness in 40% of patients studied (1,080 of 2,686), most of whom had been on a ventilator for seven days or more. In the BRAIN-ICU study of 821 adults, 74% developed delirium in hospital, and at three months 40% had thinking scores similar to people with a moderate brain injury.
Swallowing is often affected after a breathing tube: a 2021 meta-analysis of 38 studies found swallowing difficulty in 41% of critically ill adults after extubation, and over a third of those aspirated silently, with food or fluid entering the airway without an obvious cough. That is why swallowing is assessed before oral feeding is advanced.
A meta-analysis of 38 studies found clinically important depressive symptoms in about one-third of ICU survivors through the first year. The UK NICE guideline on rehabilitation after critical illness sets out a pathway of assessment, a structured programme and review, and an American Thoracic Society guideline notes that physical rehabilitation improves outcomes in mixed groups of ICU patients.
Read the full guide: Life After the ICU: Weakness, Confusion and Post-ICU Syndrome
What Post-ICU Rehabilitation Involves
24/7 doctors and nursing, Smart ICU video and vital-sign monitoring for fragile patients, and tele-ICU intensivist backup.
Chest physiotherapy and respiratory therapy; weaning plans and tracheostomy care with a dedicated respiratory therapist 24/7.
Assessment before oral feeding is advanced, and swallow therapy where needed, charged per session.
Graded physiotherapy for ICU-acquired weakness: sitting, standing, walking and stairs, paced to fatigue.
A calm routine, orientation, and attention to delirium, low mood and sleep, with the family involved.
Clinical nutrition, feeding-tube and catheter care, and pressure-injury prevention.
Who We Admit
The move from the ICU is planned with the treating team once they agree it is safe; call us while your family member is still in the ICU so the transfer can be organised. Inpatient (direct from hospital or ICU where needed), OPD and home rehabilitation across Bengaluru.
What an Inpatient Stay Includes
Before admission, we go through a written package sheet with you that lists what is included, what is charged separately and the payment terms. You sign it only once it has been explained. Inpatient packages are available in twin-sharing or single rooms; our team recommends one based on the medical and breathing support needed, how much help the person needs and their goals.
Included in both packages
- Bed, attender stay and patient meals (diet plan included)
- Duty doctor consultation, 24/7 nursing and 24/7 caregivers
- Respiratory therapy (RT care), PEG-tube and catheter care
- Daily physiotherapy (one session a day in Essential, two in Advanced)
- Gait training: manual, parallel bars, tilt table and body-weight-support (unweighing) system
- Electrotherapy: TENS, NMES, IFT and therapeutic ultrasound
- Strength training, manual therapy and chest physiotherapy
- Robotic glove and advanced hand therapy; red and infrared light therapy
Advanced package adds
- A second physiotherapy session every day
- Robotic gait training (RAGT)
- High-intensity electromagnetic therapy (HIEMT) and pelvic-floor magnetic therapy
- Cryotherapy
- Balance assessment and training
- Occupational therapy
Charged separately, when clinically needed
- Speech and swallow therapy (per session)
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) and rTMS (per session)
- ICU/HDU care, ICU doctors, ventilator and oxygen support, cardiac monitor, infusion and DVT pumps
- Medicines, consumables, laboratory tests and imaging
- Specialist consultations and attender meals
Every separately charged item is listed on the sheet you sign before admission, so it is never a surprise at discharge. An advance payment and a refundable security deposit apply at admission. Our admissions team verifies insurance coverage and helps with pre-authorisation. For how to compare any centre's quote, read our guide to rehabilitation costs.
Who Looks After You
Rehabilitation at SENSE Health is medically led. Inpatients are looked after by our 24/7 emergency response team: on-site doctors trained in emergency management, with ICU experience, backed by Cloudphysician's intensivists through 24/7 remote tele-ICU and Smart ICU monitoring. Meet the team on our About page.
Dr. Vaibhav Shivram Lokhande
- Co-founder, SENSE Health
- MBBS, DNB (Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation); Fellowship (Taiwan, Korea)
- Consultant Physiatrist: specialist in neuro rehabilitation, including stroke rehabilitation; 17 years of experience
- KMC Reg. No. DLH 2019 0000421 KTK · Full profile →
Dr. Manikanta
- Founder & Managing Director
- MBBS (RGUHS); Fellowship in Emergency Medicine; PG Diploma, Biomedical Engineering (IIT Delhi, in progress)
- Co-reviews our patient-education articles · Full profile →
Neurologist, 24/7 doctors and therapy team
- Neurologist for medical review of neurological conditions
- 24/7 medical officers and emergency response team
- Dedicated respiratory therapist, 24/7, for tracheostomy and ventilator patients
- Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and swallow therapists (who work in Kannada), nurses, caregivers and clinical nutrition
How Admission Works
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it safe to move a patient from the ICU to a rehabilitation hospital?
When the treating team agrees the person is stable enough, yes. At SENSE Health doctors are on site 24/7, Cloudphysician's intensivists are available through tele-ICU, Smart ICU monitoring watches fragile patients, and ventilator, oxygen and ICU/HDU care are available when needed.
What is post-intensive care syndrome?
New or worsening problems with physical strength, thinking and memory, or mood after a critical illness. Weakness affects about 40% of ICU patients studied, delirium is common in hospital, and about a third of survivors have depressive symptoms in the first year. Rehabilitation addresses all three.
Can my family member eat normally after the breathing tube is removed?
Not always straight away. Swallowing difficulty affects about 41% of critically ill adults after extubation, and some aspirate silently. We assess swallowing before advancing oral feeding and treat it where needed.
Do you admit patients who are still on a ventilator?
Yes. A dedicated respiratory therapist is available 24/7 for ventilator and tracheostomy patients. Ventilator, oxygen and ICU/HDU care are charged separately and listed on the package sheet before admission.
How long does post-ICU recovery take?
It depends on the illness, the length of the ICU stay and the person's strength before it. A personalised timeline is set at admission and reviewed every week, and care can continue through OPD or home rehabilitation.
Planning the Move Out of the ICU?
Call us while your family member is still in the ICU. Share the discharge summary and current support, and we will plan the transfer with the treating team.
WhatsApp Us Call +91 96633 34659 OPD Monday–Saturday, 9 AM–7 PM · AVR Heights, 100 Feet Road, HRBR Layout 1st Block, Kalyan Nagar, Bengaluru 560043 · Get directions