Public-Private Partnership imperative for clinical management of COVID-19: FICCI President

New Delhi: Mr Rajesh Bhushan, Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has said that as a country we must try to achieve a mortality rate of less than one percent. Addressing a virtual conclave ‘Clinical Protocol and Case Management in COVID-19’, organized by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, jointly with FICCI and AIIMS, Mr Bhushan said, “We must ensure that no patient (of COVID-19) is left untreated and our system should be available, affordable and accessible to all.”

Dr Sangita Reddy, President, FICCI and Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “While both the private and public sector healthcare providers are facing their own challenges, this crisis has given them an opportunity to come together and work for the society. This is the time when we need to exchange best practices and evolve the most effective care guidelines using collective knowledge and experience. This will go a long way in augmenting the Public-Private Partnerships in healthcare for the country.”

Dr Reddy also acknowledged the unconditional commitment and immense efforts being made by all the healthcare workers across the country.

Prof Balram Bhargava, Secretary, DHR & Director General, ICMR, said that every day is a new learning for COVID response, and we need to continue to work on war footing through early diagnosis, testing, tracking and treatment until the pandemic is over. He also informed that we now have COVID testing capability in each district of the country and the government is trying to further scale it up.

Dr Randeep Guleria, Director, AIIMS, highlighted the importance of following evidence-based treatment protocols given the huge heterogeneity in the current treatment modules, leading to increased mortality.

Dr Manish Soneja from AIIMS made a presentation on clinical protocols and best practices in case management for COVID-19 and shared the various treatment options available in the country, their implementation as well as effectiveness.

Dr Alok Roy, Chair, FICCI Health Services Committee and Chairman, Medica Group of Hospitals, also shared the concerns of the industry regarding the need for re-thinking of referral framework for COVID-19 and the rising challenge of inadequate infrastructure in non-metro cities and rural areas.

While COVID-19 has brought unprecedented challenges to our healthcare systems, there has been proactive response from the government as well as industry to help mitigate the impact of this crisis. The Conclave was organized to share the best practices and effective treatment modules being implemented by the public and private sector hospitals in the country. The Ministry also encouraged the hospital representatives to share their key concerns and challenges being faced while managing COVID-19 in their facilities.

Senior doctors from reputed private sector hospitals also shared their experiences and challenges in their fight against COVID-19, specifically the financial stress on hospitals and shortage and safety concerns of healthcare workers. The event was attended by more than 150 hospital representatives, senior doctors and clinicians from across the country.