View From The Top

Published in WEST BENGAL HEALTHCARE REVIEW – 5th edition (Pages 114 to 117)

View From the Top

‘ Increased access to quality healthcare services

should be the major thrust areas to be considered by us’

Burning the midnight oil, the man has been toiling hard to ensure that quality medical care reaches out to ‘ALL’ irrespective of their social or economic condition, because he believe that’s the reason why we are into this noble profession of ‘Healthcare’

‘WEST BENGAL HEALTHCARE REVIEW’ managed to meet SANJAY PRASAD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTIOR, MERCY HOSPITAL to know and about the major initiatives rolled-out by the hospital and his vision for the future.

What are your view on the private healthcare industry in the state? How it has matured over the years and what are its future prospects? How is Mercy Hospital placed vis-à-vis the other corporate hospitals in the state?
First off, we should not view the delivery of healthcare through the prism of ‘ corporate’ hospitals. ‘not for profit’ hospitals, ‘ not for ‘government’ hospitals, ‘mission’ hospitals or ‘government’ hospitals. I am reminded of a wonderful African Proverb “ The race of life”

“Every morning in Africa , a gazelle awaken. He has only one thought on his mind:
To be able to run faster than the fastest lion. If he cannot, then he will be eaten.

Every morning in Africa a lion awakes. He has only one though on his mind:
To be able to run faster than the slowest gazelle. If he cannot, he will die of hunger.

Whether you choose to be a gazelle or a lion of no consequence. If is enough to know that with the rising of the sun, you must run. And you must faster than you did yesterday or you will die.

So, comparisons should only be based on the resources deployed and the level of healthcare that is being provided to the person who at that particular time is in need of that facility or service. We really should not get caught up on comparing apples and oranges. I am of the firm belief that in such a young nation as India with an aging population there is enough scope for every healthcare delivery system to remain relevant for the ‘billion beating hearts’

The state healthcare and family welfare department, which oversees and monitors the healthcare system in the state has been instrumental in bringing about a semblance of good governance and a change in the working of the government run hospitals. Despite the improvement in the healthcare services, the upper and middle class people in the state still rely on corporate hospitals and private nursing homes. Our State of Health Minister Dr. Surya Kanta Misra has pointed out on several occasions that it isn’t possible for the state government to bear the onus of providing quality and cost effective healthcare to the entire population in this respect but at the same time has cautioned that it should act as an alternative and not as a substitute to the public healthcare system. In sharp contrast to public healthcare sector, the private sector has seen a good healthcare.

I am of the opinion that Private healthcare industry in West Bengal has a tremendous potential. It is pertinent to point out some of the current trends like i. higher economic growth and higher disposable incomes leading to higher per capita health spends, ii. Changing profile of disease from more lifestyle diseases which are chronic in nature.  iii. Health status of the urban poor etc. is a growing concern now owing to the increase in migration to cities.

The Private sector now provides more than 70 percent of the healthcare in India which is almost similar to West Bengal. It’s a matured industry now and as a result all the big players from the country have started their operations in the state with close to around 4000 additional beds. We can consider some of the major positive impacts of growth of private healthcare on the healthcare scenario in India and West Bangal. Availability of services has improved tremendously with all services available lower in relation to rest of the world. Quality of healthcare has improved. Success rates in the Indian healthcare providers are equal to or better than their counterparts in developed countries. All these contribute to the growth and establishment of medical tourism to India. A study by McKinley and the COO Medical Tourism in India has projected that Medical Tourism could become a 1 Billion $ business by 2010 considering Kolkata, The Medical Hub of Eastern Region of the county.

Mercy Hospital being ‘not for profit’ in nature and being a ‘mission based hospital’ maintains a strong corporate characteristic as well as is focused and committed to it’s social responsibilities since its inception way back in 1977.

How important is accreditation of hospitals in the present healthcare delivery system?
Hospital accreditation has been defined as a self-assessment and external peer assessment process used by health care organizations to accurately assess their level of performance in relation to established standards and to implement ways to continuously improve. Critically accreditation is not just about standard setting, there are analytical, counseling and self-improvement dimensions to the process. There are parallel issues around evidence based medicine, quality assurance and medical ethics and the reduction of medical errors is a key role of the accreditation process. Hospital accreditation is therefore one component in the maintenance of patient safety. So in the present competitive situation in healthcare industry quality is the main differentiation factor and accreditation is the best tool to be used by all of us for continuous monitoring process of quality and it’s a must.

Mercy hospital received its ISO 9001:2000 way back in 2003. Currently pursuing NABH, NABL, ISO 9001:2008 quality 14001:2004, Environment Management System, OHSAS 18001:2007 Occupational Health and Safety System which are in various stages of completion.

Sir, what are your major thrust areas identified by you?
Increased access to quality health care services should be the major thrust areas to be considered by us. All the facilities are available even now only in the cities whereas 70% of the Indian population resides in rural area and have minimal access of sometimes no access to modern healthcare service. Another major thrust is required in health insurance sector. With ever increasing cost of healthcare common people can afford the benefit of the latest innovations only through a perfect hand holding process through a wider reach of health insurance in community. Health insurance and Mirco insurance companies should reach the grass root levels of society to financially empower them to avail such facilities

Hospital accredition has been difined as self-assessment and external peer assessment process used by health care organizations to accurately assess their level of performance in relation to established standards and to implement ways to continuously improve. Critically, accreditation is not just about standard-setting, there are analytical, counseling and self-improvement dimensions to the process.

And what are the major achievements accomplished by the Hospital under your tenure?
Mercy Hospital started its journey in 1977. The building and other infrastructure facilities were in need of renovation and revamping to keep pace with demands related to the developments in the healthcare scenario in the city. By the Grace of God in the last 5 years all the 6 floors have been renovated totally. We have created an executive class private ward at the 6^th floor of our hospital which has been very well accepted by the corporate patients. We have expanded our outreach programs phenomenally in the last five years. Now we have expanded our outreach programs phenomenally in last five years. Now we are running 15 rural clinics in 4 districts surrounding Kolkata serving almost 5000 patients every month. A complete new OT complex with 4 operation rooms, total digital imaging solutions, a full fledged Pathology Lab with all the latest automatic equipment’s, completely new  Dental and Eye departments with all latest facilities and totally renovated ICU, ITU and NICU have been added in the last 5 years.

Mercy Hospital has put much thrust on implementation of cutting-edge technology in the Hospital. Can you give us an idea about the latest technology implemented at the Hosptial?
Cutting edge is a very relative term. Besides upgrading the infrastructure we have concentrated in upgrading the equipment’s and instruments also. We have invested more than 2.5 cores and completely renovated our Pathology, Dental and Eye departments with all latest equipment’s. Our imaging department has gone through a revolutionary up gradation, CT scan, Digital X-ray, Digital USG and the most modern Echocardiogram and TMT machine are available in our hospital imaging department. The most modern, state- of- the- art Neonatal Intensive Care Unit ( NICU) caters to the needs of the newborn babies. It was Calcutta’s very first National Neonatology Forum accredited Level II NICU.

The Eastern region has an increasing population of thalassemia patients. What kind of specialized treatment is available at the hospital? How do you plan to spread awareness about this dreaded disease of thalassemia in the region?
Mercy Hospital has been serving Kolkata for the last 33 years where we have been providing specialized treatment for this deadly disease. Annually, more than 4000 transactions are provided to the patients with the majority being provided totally free of cost. Our Hematology department is fully equipped for providing regular blood transfusions. This apart, for the last few years, we have been celebrating World Thalassemia Day by bringing together our young patients and celebrating the gift of life with them. We feel that a greater awareness of thalassemia is needed, to eradicate it completely through awareness. It has been done in certain developed countries in the world and there is no reason why we cannot do the same. I am grateful to some of our eminent actors, celebrities and guests who have been a part of this awareness campaign.

Mercy Hospital had plans to associate with the State Government under the PPP project to revamp the healthcare delivery system in Bengal. Can you please share with us your thoughts in the regard? How is the Hospital talking care of the healthcare needs of then underprivileged sections of the society?
We are in the process of speaking with KMC ( MIC Health) for the Public Private Partnership, to work with the Health Centre and provide better and affordable healthcare to the masses.

Much of the work that we do with the underprivileged sections of society is in the areas of treatment of thalassemia, restoration of cleft and palate deformities and through our network of rual outreach Mercy Clinics in West Bengal and Sisters of Missionaries of Charity who partner with us relentlessly in bringing absolutely the neediest of people needing medical attention. We are humbled at their efforts. Surely, Calcutta has many reasons to celebrate this ‘City of Joy’ with people like Mother Teresa having been in our midst.

We are committed to provide 40% free treatment at outdoor and 10% at indoor. But in reality we do much more than that. Almost 4000 thalassemia patients get absolute free treatment every year. Last year, Mercy Hospital took responsibly of two unidentified underprivileged patients who had been lying on the floors of a government hospital- our Hospital treated them free of cost, and they were released a few days later. We provided free treatment to some victims of the Stephen court fire incidence also.

With the growth of India of the private healthcare industry, there is an increasing demand for quality manpower like trained nurses and para-medical staff in the state. How is Mercy School of Nursing taking care of this?
At the current situation, I feel every healthcare institution is reeling at the shortage of nursing staff. Mercy Hospital School of Nursing was started in 1979 under the West Bengal Nursing Council the school is recognized by the Indian Nursing Council and thoroughly prepares the young ladies for a career in healthcare. Nurses graduating from this program are highly sought after by both public and private hospitals due to the high quality of education received. Since its inception 390 students have graduated and are working as registered nurses in India and abroad. Many of these women would not have a career if they had not had the opportunity to attend Mercy Hospital School of Nursing.

Also, our College of Nursing is in its’ final planning stages and work on the same should commence shortly. This will give an opportunity to our students who pass out from the School of Nursing to upgrade themselves.

Several multi-specialty and super specialty hospital projects have came up in the city in the recent years. What are your observations in this regards? What kind of completion will it throw up to players like you? How do you think the private healthcare scenario will evolve in the state in the next one decade?
Let’s think three words- Quality, Service, People. The race is not between organizations which have the best this or the best that. It is between organizations that will be focused on ensuring that the benefits that accrue out of the energy that is created between quality, service, people is passed onto the patient. To reiterate, I am of the firm belief that in such a young nation as India an aging population there is enough scope for every healthcare delivery system to remain relevant for the ‘billion beating hearts’

Mercy Hospital is serving the community since 1977. We already have our loyal patients who are based in the city and the suburbs who have seen this institution through thick and thin. We feel it is a great exercise in seeking to compete with other hospitals. Rather. I think  that we should all complement each other in order to provide better and more enhanced healthcare to all sections of society e.g. hospitals in close probity with each other could share their higher end equipment’s ( MRI, CT Scan etc) which will help in lowering the cost of healthcare delivery and benefit the patient.

Mercy Hospital has rolled-out its ambitious plan of setting up ‘Mercy Clinics’ in the semi-urban and rural places of the state to provide quality healthcare to the people of these regions. Can you please elaborate on this initiative?
Most families living in rural communities outside of Kolkata or in the outskirts of Kolkata have no immediate access to healthcare and cannot afford the time away from work or the costs required for transportation to and from Kolkata. Many of the children in these communities suffer from diseases like thalassemia, leukemia, and cleft lips or palates, in addition to minor illness that if left untreated put children in high risks. In response, Mercy Hospital is committed to building 40 Mercy Clinics. These will function as small satellite facilities that deliver basic medical care at little or no cost to the patients. 15 Mercy Clinics are currently operations and two more are under construction.

The six clinics in Kolkata are running more than 25 years. We treat on average 50 patients every clinic day. In the last 2 years we have started 7 other clinics in 4 different districts and also 2 clinics in another state. Besides these 15 clinics two more clinics have been able to collect almost 200 children with cleft lip and palate who need surgery. These clinics are creating huge impact in rural lives and we are getting calls from severe small instructions to start such initiatives in association with them in their loyalty.

In addition to the junior doctors and nursing staff providing basic care and health education at the clinics, senior doctors from Mercy Hospital also visit to treat more serve illnesses. If a patient requires extensive treatment, the can arrange to visit the hospital in Calcutta. We are working to start the telemedicine system, which will enable the remote transmission of medical information and diagnosis, making travel less necessary. Health and hope will soon arrive at the doorstep of those people who need it the most.

If you could share with us some of your future plans.
Simply put, we want to focus an Quality, Service, People. In the coming years we are dedicated to focusing on improving the hospital to augment the quality of treatment provided at Mercy Hospital. We want to build a ‘culture of entitlement’. All of us have in the lave five years of frenetic advancement in the healthcare space observed that the team with the best ‘bench strength’ has won. Our efforts would be to identify, recruit and nurture the best possible talent among Doctors, Nurses, Technical and Administrative staff so that the organization can become more vibrant energetic and will to serve.

Lastly, I leave with one thought “ Twenty year from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”  Mark Twain

The challenge today for the C-suite leaders is definitely going to remain in the perspective of EVA, ROI, etc. but we can just for a moment pause and feel the faith exhibited when that patient enters into our institutions. Can we pause and then do the best that we can for them. Isn’t; that the reason why we are in this noble profession Healthcare.