The condition of ailing former chief minister Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya remains critical on Sunday though there has been a slight improvement, according to hospital authorities. The 79 year-old Marxist leader is undergoing treatment with invasive ventilator support in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the hospital as he had pneumonia with multi-drug resistant infections badly affecting both lungs.

He was admitted to Woodlands Hospital around 4.30 pm on Saturday with severe respiratory distress, abnormal fall and rise in oxygen saturation (SpO2) and carbon dioxide levels respectively. An eight-member medical team comprising experts in critical care, general medicine, cardiology, endocrinology and chest medicine attended to him on Sunday and discussed the line of treatment for the ailing octogenarian former chief minister.

He was supposed to undergo a chest CT scan this afternoon to assess the condition of his lungs but the plan was deferred for a day or couple of days considering his other health parameters like creatinine and blood sugar level.. “He has multi-drug resistant Klebsiella bacterial infections damaging his lungs. We will perform the chest CT scan procedure after his condition improves. Till then the CT scan has been deferred. His cardiac condition is better as per his echocardiogram report.

His blood sugar level is high and he has been administered insulin to keep level under control,” a senior member of the medical team said. “His creatinine is also high and that can affect his kidney functions. We have given him broad spectrum antibiotics to fight the infections. He has taken diet through Ryles tube and responded slightly when doctors interacted with him.

Our prime consideration is to get him off ventilation support as much possible considering his condition,” the doctor said, while requesting anonymity. CPI-M leaders like Mr Biman Bose, Left Front chairman, Dr Suryakanta Mishra, former CPI-M state secretary and Mr Suvendu Adhikary, BJP MLA and Leader of the Opposition, Indian Secular Front (ISF) MLA Naushad Siddiqui, Congress leaders Mr Subhankar Sarkar visited the hospital and enquired about Mr Bhattacharya’s condition.

Mr Bhattacharya, a patient of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who regularly requires oxygen support, fell seriously ill on Saturday afternoon at his residence after oxygen saturation level came down to 70 per cent, when minimum level should be around 90 per cent. Considering his critical condition his family member contacted the Woodlands Hospital authorities seeking an ambulance to take him to the hospital.

The hospital authorities sent a specialized critical care ambulance and expert doctors to bring him to the hospital. He was not willing to get treatment in a hospital first but his family members decided to take to Woodlands Hospital despite his strong resistance. “His health condition remained critical but stable as oxygen saturation in his blood improved. His blood pressure has also improved. He is responding to the treatment but still is not out of danger. Our doctors closely monitored him the entire night and there was no major deterioration,” according to a senior administrative officer of the hospital.