Healthcare workers have been the first line of defence in the battle against the pandemic. Health workers and the hospital authorities risked their lives to save others during the Covid-19 pandemic. Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Sparsh Hospital, Dr Priyabrata Dhir spoke with Orissa Post highlighting the impact of the pandemic on the healthcare sector and how his hospital successfully overcame the challenges.
How Covid-19 impacted functioning of the hospital & how could you cope with that?
Covid-19 pandemic impacted the hospital industries across the world. Many hospitals have scaled back and postponed non-emergency care. Health and social system across the globe are struggling to cope with the impact of Covid. At Sparsh Hospital, we have the same situation. With past experience during various disasters, our rapid action team reacted to this and devised various strategies to ensure uninterrupted service to our existing and new patients. We also took good care of our employees.
What are the advanced equipment and facilities you have added for better patient care?
The pandemic made us realise that quality health care & technical up-gradation is the only mantra to win over the situation. At Sparsh Hospital during this pandemic period we update our critical care unit by adding world-class and highly updated ventilators, monitors, diagnostic tools to match with the need of the hour.
What are the healthcare challenges you see in post-Covid era?
There are many challenges in health care sector now. Sudden decline in health care business impacted sustainability the business. There will be direct impact on supplier movement to supply the consumables in right time due to restrictions on logistic movement. Getting quality products w.r.t consumables and drugs though resource availability is more challenging as far as exports and imports are concerned. The elective services impacted though Covid fear is mounting. The mandatory guideline of government policy involves costs for the health care providers instead of availing them profit from the services. Availability of health care resource and service from the supportive providers is now a challenge to meet uninterrupted services to the patients.
How do you try to ensure affordable healthcare facilities?
Well, there are many steps that are being taken to provide affordable healthcare. Revising supplier negotiation w.r.t credit period for consumables in pharmacy and keeping the government price fix to the medicine used during pandemic. Restructuring and reengineering of staff policy through deferred incentive, increment and time limitation of duty hour which in turn help reduce employee costs are being undertaken.
