2020 has been an unusual year for the healthcare sector as the national focus shifted to containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Private hospitals like Saifee were at the forefront of this critical effort in treating patients at very nominal rates as per the BMC notifications. However, our own revenues suffered as other services were affected severely.

Given these circumstances, we would welcome any financial support by the government in the form of concessions in property tax or utility bills. The pandemic also stretched thin our national healthcare infrastructure in the initial period when there was a rush of patients.

According to Mr. Mustafa Daginawala Chief Finance Officer Saifee Hospital, Mumbai health sector needs  an urgent higher budget allocation. In the long-term, we need more investment in R&D, equipment, more hospitals, and in improving the overall infrastructure. In the short-term, we need budgetary allocation for vaccines at exempted or no cost.

The silver lining to this crisis was the much-needed focus it brought to the healthcare sector as the government pushed for affordable testing and treatment for everyone. This budget should reflect these concerns for universal quality care and vaccination for everyone.

Ms. Dipali Mathur Dayal, Co-Founder, and CEO of Super Smelly says  “The year 2020 was tough and a good, strong budget will come as a relief. We hope it is consumption-friendly, leaving more money in the hands of people to catalyze demand in the economy. Moreover, for start-ups, we look forward to the simplification of GST and tax relaxation in ESOPs.”

She further adds, MSME and startups would need government support to revive businesses and to continue to generate employment therefore easy and cheaper access to the credit would certainly bring relief. The personal care sector, in particular, needs steady budgetary support. There is a nationwide movement to transcend from large-scale toxin-based products from international brands to natural, homegrown, and toxin-free brands. Therefore it is important to emphasize the importance of Make In India and vocal for local to strengthen the country’s economy.

Mr. Vishal Kaushik, Co-Founder and MD at Upakarma Ayurveda, says “The healthcare sector is looking forward to more promising announcements from Budget 2021. During the pandemic, PM Modi has given the much-needed push to the domestic Ayurveda sector as he encouraged the world-class R&D enablement and manufacturing capabilities of India.

We are expecting the GST to be brought down from the current 12% which is levied on products that have the license to sell as Branded Ayurvedic Medicines. This will further help with cost reduction and easy accessibility of the product. The government can also look at providing funds for Ayurvedic practitioners and centers, which will further encourage the domestic and offshore investors to put faith in India for new product developments.”

Mr. Kapil Bhatia, CEO, UniMask says “MSME has always been the backbone of the Indian Economy with around 29 percent share to India’s GDP. We expect the government to re-establish favorable policies and allocate substantial funds for the growth of MSMEs. 2020 was a blessing in disguise for MSME industry where the initial most of 2020 was quite brutal but the later half came to the rescue especially with the #boycottchinesegoods campaign and push towards Make-In-India. The MSME sector is hoping to get rid of challenges like lack of access to capital, infrastructure, skilled labor, and power supply issues that plague MSMEs in India. Therefore, Indian entrepreneurs hope that the Union Budget 2021 will provide some long-term benefits to the sector with better access to credit and lenient taxation policies.”

According to Harshit Jain  MD, Founder and CEO, Doceree, The pandemic hit India’s healthcare severely and in spite of waiting until 2015 to reach the target of 2.5% of GDP to be spent on healthcare, the government should eye reaching it in the next two years so that healthcare infrastructure in the country could be improved. It is also high time that the spend is significantly increased, given the population of our country is so huge. Additionally, while universal health coverage is a welcome step and so is the idea of Health IDs, they must not remain on papers and get mired in red tape, facing delays. In the upcoming budget, allocations and timelines should be announced so that they get implemented in an organized manner and we are closer to realizing the vision of making healthcare accessible and affordable. Besides, innovative healthcare startups that are working to promote accessibility and affordability should be encouraged by way tax benefits and tax holidays so that government and private partners can work together to make the condition of Indian healthcare better.

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India has a huge diabetes epidemic. The number of people with Type 2 diabetes is escalating in both the urban and rural areas of the country with almost 60% of Asians reported having diabetes or pre-diabetes by age 60. While we have seen a focused effort to teach people about Type 2 diabetes in the last few years, awareness about Type 2 diabetes or juvenile diabetes is still largely lacking.

In fact, some estimates show that there is an alarming gap between the estimated cases and the actual number of children and adolescents who are diagnosed. This indicates that the condition is most likely not detected in time in most cases. Since early diagnosis is critical for survival, we need a greater effort to detect and educate people on juvenile diabetes.

As a lifelong condition, families of affected children must be taught about daily glucose monitoring, timely insulin injections, and screening for complications. We should also counsel them on the psychological fallout and the need for emotional support. As it cannot be prevented or cured, the responsibility for educating families on the management of juvenile diabetes lies with the healthcare community and the government.

This Diabetes Day we must also thank our nurses, who have been an essential part of our prevention and management strategies. As healthcare professionals who are most connected to our patients, it is their selfless care and devotion which has made an actual difference in our patients’ lives, whether they are adults, adolescents, or children.

Dr. Altamash Shaikh
Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist
Saifee Hospital, Mumbai.

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Mumbai:  Saifee Hospital – one of Mumbai renowned multi-specialty healthcare facility located in South Mumbai, was amongs’t the few hospitals to set up the COVID 19 facilities within the hospital premises.  On a continuous path of lowering the COVID-19 case fatality rate, Saifee hospital has one of the lowest mortality rates among COVID 19 patients which stands at 9%as of today considering that gravely sick people are being admitted.

Saifee’s success story on COVID 19 patient handling: 

Being the city’s first private hospital to have a 50 bedded COVID-19 Ready facility(currently 100 beds provision), Saifee Hospital has admitted 1426 patients from April 4, 2020, and has treated & discharged 1213 patients to date.  Out of which 18% of patients admitted were critical on admission and hospitalization, and almost 78% of these patients had co-morbid conditions such as DM, HT etc. With constant updates to patient’s family members regularly, inclusive, of video calls, Saifee Hospital has a unique discharge protocol of on-going follow-up after discharge and easy to follow e-booklet on Home Care for COVID 19 patients.

It is the result of well-coordinated efforts, of the entire hospital staff including the doctors, nurses, care givers, health Technicians, etc., supported by a highly efficient inter-department machinery working round the clock to ensure timely supply of goods and other necessities required for the patients as well as the staff e.g. Engineering department, BME department, Pharmacy, and F&B department.  One of the major contributors to Saifee’s success story on COVID 19 patient handling is the training and skill development of the staff and crew set to work on COVID cases, with little time in hand to turnaround the things and equip every member from doctor to nurses to technicians, etc. was a task at hand.

Preparing the facility with international guidelines and protocols certainly demanded effective workforce management e.g. 24X7 nurses & caregivers roaster, doctors on call, teleconsultations, housekeeping, etc.  A special COVID Empathy group was set up to help patients and the crew handling them, who constantly provided counseling to elevate their mental conditioning and help them think positively, which in turn had a great impact on their overall recovery. Saifee management paid great attention to the sterilization and infection control at the premises and the equipment being used at the COVID facility and followed the necessary global protocols underlined by the authorities.

Constant internal audits were conducted to ensure staff wearing the safety gear including – PPE kits, glows, masks, face shields, etc. The Supply chain management at Saifee Hospital played a vital role in ensuring timely and prompt supplies, be it medical types of equipment, sterilization, and fumigation, 24×7 pharmacies with adequate stock of necessary drugs and medicines, well-defined infection protocols.  Saifee management also ensured good health of the staff and crew working in the COVID facility, by providing them with immunity boosters, giving regular time-outs to avoid the burn-out, healthy & nutritious meals for better stamina, regular counseling sessions, etc.

Commenting on the same, Dr. Moiz Bhaisaheb, Executive Trustee at Saifee Hospital said, “Saifee has always been on the forefront to ensure its full support in such situations, and we were one of the first few hospitals to build COVID facility in Mumbai.  Our international standards of services and expertise in the field helped us to create a world-class COVID care unit, with the best of the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers. Saifee’s efficient design thinking helped to handle COVID 19 patients with the least exposure to the other areas of the hospital, in a way curtailing the infection and safeguard the areas of the premises for Non-COVID patients. I salute and thank all the COVID warriors at Saifee for relentlessly working towards nations fight against the pandemic”.

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This time the usual exuberance around the Doctor’s Day celebration is missing because healthcare workers across the globe are busy fighting an invisible enemy. Immediately after the Janta curfew in late March, COVID cases started popping out of nowhere. The observance of National Doctor’s Day is the best time to appreciate the role of Doctors for caring and saving the life of people. The importance of doctors have more significance this year due to their contribution in fighting against COVID-19 pandemic.

Management team, Medeor hospital, Delhi NCR says ” In this difficult time of global pandemic, our team doctors have come together to render an unsolicited support for treating Covid-19 patients.  Every day they gear up to fight this pandemic, with the huge risk of getting infected themselves, endangering their families and loved ones too. The dedication of every doctor fighting this virus is equal to that of a soldier standing at the border to save lives of every Indian citizen from the enemies”.

Dr. Hardik Ajmera- Deputy Medical Director, Saifee Hospital Mumbai says ” We had to rise to the occasion and create a COVID patient facility within our premises. This involved redesigning and restructuring the entire hospital which was not equipped to handle contagious disease of this magnitude. We are proud to see an overwhelming number of doctors and paramedics volunteering to work in COVID areas contrary to our belief. Not that, they are not afraid, but they want to overcome their fears to serve humanity. COVID team members include those with toddlers, or elders at home but this does not deter from responding to the call of their duty. And what motivates them to continue is the smile on their face, when a ventilated patient manages to go home.  On this doctor’s day, we hope and pray, this pandemic recedes soon so that we can celebrate the next doctor’s day with the usual fanfare.”

Saluting the doctors Mr. Chintan Gandhi – Director & CEO, Millennium Herbal Care says- I am personally glad that this day, is now mainstream. We are paying a huge price for it, but definitely all our COVID warriors, the healthcare professionals, and the medical staff need to be applauded for the commendable work they are doing in battling this invisible enemy. On this day, I would also like to remember the doctors of ancient India, who gave us the science to be resilient and strengthen our immunity, a science, which is mostly our contribution to the world with Ayurveda – the science of longevity; Yoga – the science of holistic health; Siddha – the science of natural ingredients and much more. In fact, the Ayurveda system of medicines, using herbs and other herbal components to cure ailments, has become the foundation on which the modern science of phytomedicines has been laid. He further added, On this day, I would personally like all of us Indians to remember this and be proud of our specific contribution towards the science of immunity which could be a boon to mankind, if understood and practiced more mainstream than before.

According to Dr Anish Desai Strategic Medical Affair- Adroit Biomed Pvt Ltd. “Medical professionals are working tirelessly in the service of humanity with the above principles in their mind. The perseverance of medical professionals in the current pandemic of COVID 19, whether as frontline warriors or as researchers discovering new medicines and vaccines is evident. The patient is always at the centre of what we do and our endeavour is to achieve superior clinical outcomes. Finally, prevention is better than cure, therefore mask, hand hygiene & social distancing is the new normal and this is something that as doctors we insist so that you keep yourself protected.”

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Mumbai, May 14,2020: A 93-year-old Indian woman has become a source of inspiration for those suffering from corona virus as she beats the disease despite suffering from multiple chronic health conditions and old age. A resident of Mazgaon, she was tested COVID-19 positive and was admitted to Saifee Hospital on 17th April 2020. A week and a half of good care and treatment, she was discharged from Saifee, wheeling out through hallways full of applauding staff. 

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the most common comorbidities among patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, and the lady had hypertension. She was also suffering from generalized body weakness for the past 8-10 days. With a due line of proper treatment and care at Saifee’s COVID facility for one and a half weeks, the patient was discharged from the hospital hale and healthy. And is at her home, still following the post-recovery course of action as a precautionary measure.

Dr. Vernon Desa, Director (Medical Governance and Clinical Compliance) at Saifee Hospital said, “It is a tough time for many and to see her leaving the hospital after recovering from COVID-19 gave our staff the motivation, boost their morals to perform their duties more diligently. It is important to not only appreciate the efforts of the frontline warriors but also appreciate survivors for their will power of not giving up. We just hope her story gives some hope to other patients and urge them to fight back even harder.”

Now fully recovered, she wants to share her experience and story of hope with the people and show the importance of following the guidelines and cooperating fully with the doctors and staff attending to a patient.  “What helped me get through the illness was faith and inner strength. I am thankful to the entire team of doctors, nurses and support staff for their kindness, compassion and efficiency for helping me to recover from this illness” she said. 

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