Private sector support: Crucial for ensuring quality healthcare

In conversation with Jasdeep Singh, Group CEO, CARE Hospitals, India.

The new world order has given rise to fresh realizations and shuffled priorities for the human race. Humbled by tremendous loss, people from all sectors have recognized the need to work in collaboration in order to usher in a better and more sustainable tomorrow where profit and loss are calculated in multiple matrixes and are no longer limited to material gains.

In this new dawn, we believe the Indian private sector is ready and willing to take up more responsibility. The healthcare sector, in particular, is a crucial arena, where public-private collaborations can bridge the gaps effectively. To explore the industry sentiments, in this context, we had a candid conversation with Jasdeep Singh, Group CEO, CARE Hospitals, India.

The pandemic has exposed gaping holes in the country’s healthcare system. How can private sector healthcare players help in bridging the gaps? 

India touched the 100-crore vaccination milestone recently. No mean feat for a vast country with so much diversity in every sense. Yet another example of strong public-private contribution and a great spirit of the nation. In spite of such qualities, as a nation, we still have a long distance to cover in terms of improving our healthcare system.  

As COVID-19 took the form of a pandemic, we realised our healthcare system’s under-preparedness to manage it. While we were fire-fighting to protect the baffled human race, the pandemic silently exposed the cracks in our healthcare structure. As a country we were able to curtail the virus during first wave, but it was a harder hit during second wave, which confirmed 34,285,814 (Nov. 1st, 2021) COVID-19 cases cumulatively and the number of COVID-19 deaths, cumulatively, stood at 458,437. (Source: covid19.who.int) 

Healthcare struggled with lack of funding even before COVID-19 emerged. Shortage of beds, oxygen supplies and medication, exposed the system to graver issues like resource deficiencies. While Indian government is doing many things to bring COVID-19 spread under its toe, including recently introducing a credit incentive programme worth Rs. 500 billion to boost healthcare infrastructure, the private sector too has the potential to contribute meaningfully.

[box type=”info” align=”” class=”” width=””]Today 70% of the health services are provided by the private sector, contributing to technological advancement, governance, research and development, workforce development and capacity building. Private sector can play an instrumental role in enriching technology, infrastructure and internationally skilled healthcare professionals, thus bring world class patient experience home. [/box]

 What are the few key areas where private sector healthcare players can help in rebuilding India’s healthcare system?  

Enhancing India’s healthcare capabilities and bridging the gaps in infrastructure are neither easy nor inexpensive tasks.

[box type=”success” align=”” class=”” width=””]By aligning the expertise and funding of private sector to the accessibility of the public sector, India’s healthcare infrastructure can be strengthened into a strong system that can handle potential health crises on one end and ensure that healthcare needs are continuously addressed on the other. [/box]

Under the aegis of Evercare, the leading impact-driven healthcare group in South Asia and Africa, CARE Hospitals has been investing in India to provide quality-driven healthcare services, with 12 state-of-the-art CARE Hospitals offering over 2,000 beds in six cities across five states of India. We believe that quality healthcare is a fundamental right. Hence, we continue to invest to enrich the healthcare system to deliver high-quality care and to prove that we can have a meaningful social impact on millions of lives while delivering sustainable financial returns. In India, the private sector should step up to fill in the space in the current infrastructure, keeping the systems well-equipped even in the midst of crises.  

Increased testing, stringent measures, implementation of restrictions and mass vaccination drives across India has controlled the spread of the virus. This wouldn’t have been possible without the collective efforts of the government, public and private healthcare players and citizens. This crisis has taught us that we must rise to the challenge and be well-prepared for the future, which includes public-private sector collaboration. For us, transforming the traditional healthcare model to include a mix of private and public sector involvement is the way forward. 

In your opinion, what are some of the key steps that private sector healthcare providers should take in order to strengthen the country’s healthcare system and prepare it better for future crises? 

Private healthcare providers should take the following steps to strengthen the healthcare system:  

Garner funds to fuel progress: Every possible resource must be explored to ensure funds flow towards healthcare on priority. Only with funds will the quality of care be maintained and a better patient experience delivered. 

Reduce cost with technology: Investments in technology-enabled healthcare continuity during COVID-19 pandemic too. Continuous investment here is vital to ensure quality and reduce costs in the long run. 

Digitise Healthcare: Amplify the use of e-healthcare services like telemedicine, teleradiology, e-ICU so as to reach out to remote areas of the country and bring quality healthcare without investing in infrastructure. 

Outreach clinics: Establish well-equipped outreach clinics across tier 1 and tier 2 cities to expand the reach of quality healthcare. 

Enhance infrastructure: Invest in high-quality equipment that improves accuracy, reliability and outcome, enriching patient experience multi-fold. 

Attract world-class talent: Invest well in infrastructure and people so that the right talent joins and stays, for the best talent only will ensure quality service delivery and positive outcome.  

Nurture new talent: Take the young minds into the fold and train them to become competent yet compassionate healthcare professionals, thus ensuring a great talent pool for the future too.