‘Investments in health sector must be boosted’
The pandemic gutted India’s economy and hurt millions of workers, artists, professionals, and homemakers. Ahead of the Union budget, HT speaks to a cross-section of people to document their hopes and wishes from the exercise
Our aim should be affordable and quality health for all in the near future K SUBBA REDDY, head of critical care at Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: In his 15-year career, Dr K Subba Reddy has faced many public health challenges. But the 43-year-old senior consultant and head of critical care at Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad found Covid-19 unlike any disease he had treated before.
“I was really apprehensive in treating Covid-19 patients, after coming to know about infectivity and mortality among Covid-19 patients in the US and Italy. The apprehension increased as my team mates started getting infected one after another. It was unlike any other situation I have treated in the past,” he said.
Patients started streaming into his hospital shortly after the nationwide lockdown was imposed to curb the spread of the virus in March. “It was a big challenge for us to make the staff prepared to face the situation in the early days. The pandemic sparked unprecedented fear in the staff which translated to fewer workers willing to take care of Covid-19 patients. This led to an inevitable spike in psychological stress and burnouts among health care staff.”
Medical staff in hospitals wore bulky personal protective equipment (PPE) for hours, leaving them dehydrated, exhausted and drenched in sweat. Despite that, many doctors contracted the virus, including Reddy and at least 12 members of his team.
“I was fortunate enough to survive,” he said. “I got the infection in June when the Remdesivir injection was not available, I had moderate disease with high fever, loose motions and chest congestion,” he said. Remdesivir is a broad-spectrum antiviral medication used in Covid-19 treatment.
Covid-19 protocol and the risk of infection to his family of four, comprising his parents, wife and daughter, meant that he left his home for months to take care of patients and quarantined at a hospital facility.
A few of his patients succumbed to the virus but an overwhelming majority beat the infection. “The most satisfying feeling was when patients expressed their gratitude. I was happy that they all survived,” he said.
According to the Indian Medical Association, close to 500 doctors died in the pandemic and thousands more were infected. In addition, many other frontline workers also perished.
Despite the increased focus on healthcare, the pandemic adversely impacted the sector because the number of non-covid-19 procedures and patients plummeted. According to a FICCI-EY study published in September last year, the virus outbreak resulted in 70-80% drop in footfall, test volumes and 50-70% drop in revenues.
India spent 1.28% of its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2017-18 as public expenditure on health (it was 1.02% in 2016-17), which is lowest among the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to increase it by 2.5% by 2025.
Reddy said the biggest expectation from the upcoming Union Budget will be an increase in public spending, strengthening the healthcare infrastructure and manpower, and decrease the viability gap funding, a grant to support projects that are economically justified, but not financially viable.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitaraman promised in May 2020 to increase the viability gap funding from 20% to 30% for investors who want to set up health care infrastructure in tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Reddy said the government should provide subsided loans, land, and single window approval systems to encourage more investment in the health sector. The pandemic showed that the government needed to invest in rural health infrastructure, he said. “Our aim should be affordable and quality health for all in the near future,” he said.