Child healthcare is the most important sector of all. It takes precise knowledge and excellence to be in the healthcare arena. As everyone saw the advent of COVID-19, people were more worried about kids. As there were no vaccinations available for children, people got concerned about the ongoing situation. In these difficult times, AMRI Hospitals played a vital role in helping children who were facing any kind of health issues.
During COVID when people did not find proper healthcare services, AMRI stood tall and served each and every patient they got. This outstanding handling of problems was possible because of Mr Rupak Barua, Director and Group CEO of AMRI.
He took charge of AMRI in 2014 after the group faced a major setback in 2011, but his focussed and target-oriented leadership skills ensured that he succeeded in redefining AMRI as the fastest growing healthcare network in Eastern India, regaining the confidence of patients, doctors, and other stakeholders. With Mr Barua at the helm, the group has set itself on a fast-track path of growth and has taken up major expansion plans across the East and Northeast.
Visionary Outlook
AMRI Hospital’s paediatric clinical services are part of the larger hospital group, where particular focus is given on the health and wellbeing of both the child and mother by providing comprehensive services, including a number of specialised clinics. The paediatric clinics are placed in a separate area, away from general clinics, that boasts of a child-friendly vibe and a play area.
AMRI’s USP is its family-friendly, child-centric approach to bringing the best quality care to children, starting from the time they are born. They also offer comprehensive critical care services, from the moment of birth through its Neonatal ICU and to older children at the Paediatric ICU, where a multi-disciplinary approach is taken with the help of specialists from various disciplines.
Delivering the Best
Going beyond competition, AMRI’s motto is to provide the best services, backed by excellent clinical outcome and advanced technologies, under the stewardship of an outstanding roster of specialist doctors, with support from well-trained nurses and technicians. The paediatric clinics at AMRI are run by an all-rounder team, covering all major paediatric sub-specialities, with an experienced consultant at the lead of an individual clinic.
Apart from general paediatric clinics, AMRI also runs theme-based clinics, like Well Baby Clinic, Enuresis Clinic, Nephro-Urology Clinic, and Asthma Clinic, among others. The comprehensive medical team is fully supported by paramedical departments, including paediatric physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, audiology, paediatric ophthalmology service, and paediatric dentistry. The hospital also has holistic support from round-the-clock in-house investigation services, such as paediatric echocardiography, EEG, MRI, CT scan, Ultrasound, etc.
A Journey to Look up to
A healthcare professional for more than three decades, Mr Rupak Barua completed a diploma in marketing after graduation, followed by management development programmes at the Singapore Management University, IIM-Ahmadabad, and IIM-Bangalore. He has held several senior administrative positions at major corporate hospitals in Kolkata and is currently President of the Association of hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI). He is also the Chairman of CII’s Healthcare Sub-Committee (Eastern Region) and a National Expert in the Indian Chamber of Commerce’s Healthcare Committee. He has played an important role in transforming the healthcare delivery system of Eastern India.
Making the Most of Technology
As the old adage goes, change is inevitable, and it is noticeable in every aspect of people’s lives. It’s easy to predict that the future will be rewritten by digitization and AI as the use of advanced technologies is increasing. Digitalization of healthcare has greatly helped in streamlining treatment protocols and investigations, adding to the positive and patient experience for the last few years. This can only be scaled up, as earlier treatment platforms are upgraded, and more advanced ones are introduced. Much of AMRI’s products and services for patients are already on digital platforms, and its teams are actively encouraged to decrease carbon footprint besides looking at more sustainable solutions.
Ensuring Safety and Good Health
Even though the pandemic led to a lot of disorder, given the initial lack of knowledge about the virus, AMRI managed to find its foothold soon. It started by making significant changes to the infrastructure and modified its SOPs to meet the needs of the hour. AMRI set up isolation wards, formulated fresh protocols for treatment, infection control, and sanitisation, ensuring the safety and well-being of doctors, nurses, and other staff so that it could continue functioning normally for AMRI’s patients. AMRI became the first private hospital in Eastern India to dedicate a building for COVID patients, and by March 2021, four of the seven towers in Kolkata were set aside for the purpose. In order to further manage the rush of patients, AMRI tied up with premium hotels to set up satellite centres and turned India’s largest soccer stadium at Salt Lake into a field hospital.
While AMRI had treated hundreds of COVID patients, a certain percentage of them were children. In order to address their wellbeing, it made necessary changes in infrastructure at its paediatric and neonatal ICUs, which have been customised in such a manner that they are ready to manage and treat children, even if the world is hit by a third wave. As value additions, AMRI also started a home collection of samples for both RT-PCR test of COVID, and other non-COVID investigations, besides launching Virtual Home Care package for mild and moderately infected COVID-19 patients along with telemedicine platforms, so that healthcare can be taken to people’s doorstep.
Keeping up with the Know-how
As a patient-first organization, during the pandemic, AMRI’s focus has been on providing quality care and excellent clinical outcome. The most prominent initiative taken by AMRI hospitals during the pandemic was the #NoRefusal campaign, ensuring that no patient was refused, be it COVID positive or non-COVID. The ‘361o programme’ is another major initiative, which AMRI had launched in early 2020, under which the group provides an all-round service platform to offer sophisticated treatment processes.
While COVID disrupted the launch of several super-specialised disciplines it had planned, now it is gradually rolling out paediatric clinics to address issues related to cardiology, nephrology, urology, and pulmonology.
Since much of quality healthcare is dependent on technological platforms and advanced equipment, the team at AMRI would like to keep themselves updated, as they have always done, and they hope to acquire the best machinery and human resources in order to provide the best of services.
Expert Advice
While asked for advice from the young generation, Mr Rupak said, “child-care is one of the most dynamic and rewarding sectors to work in. Most people who work in childcare are passionate about it, and they thrive on the opportunities they get from working as part of a focussed and involved team. Working in child healthcare is one of the most satisfying career options available”.
