IE Health Seminar 2023: Kolkata’s journey to becoming medical hub of southeast Asia has begun

He spoke about how health infrastructure has “got a boost” under the TMC-led state government. Rao has previously served as District Magistrate of South 24 Parganas, Hooghly and Murshidabad.

“The journey of Kolkata becoming the medical hub of South Asia has begun. In the coming decade, we will be able to achieve more. We have several schemes such as Duare Sarkar, Duare Doctors. We are constantly taking feedback from government hospitals, trying to create emotional connect. Bengal’s healthcare sector has transformed in the past two decades and we take pride in saying so,” said Rao.

The panel discussion covered two key topics – on Kolkata’s potential to become a medical hub in southeast Asia and the importance of mental health in today’s world. At the fourth edition of the annual seminar, The Indian Express launched its annual Health Guide magazine.

The discussion was moderated by freelance writer Shivaji Dasgupta. Minu Budhiya, founder Director of Caring Minds, a psychotherapist and entrepreneur, spoke about her journey with her daughter who is a special-needs child with ADHD, low IQ, and bipolar disorder.

Apart from Rao, the panel included Arindam Chakraborty, regional director of NOVA fertility centre Dr Brojen Choudhury, senior consultant, Health World Hospital, Durgapur, Prakash Nair, Chief Marketing Officer, AMRI, Dhiman Paul, senior divisional manager, New India Assurance, Mukul Shrivastava, Deputy Zonal Head, Union Bank, Raj Bhattacharyya, CEO, Iris Hospital, Prof Gautam Bandhyopadhyay, head, department of psychiatry, Medical College & Hospital of Kolkata, Dr Prathama Chaudhuri, Senior Consultant, Caring Minds, Dr Praveen Kumar, child and adolescent psychiatrist, Institute of Neuro Science and Nilanjana Mukherjee, head consultant, Care of Autism.

Health infrastructure in the state has improved considerably over the past few years. At present, the state has 42 super specialty hospitals with around 11,700 doctors, which is double of what it was in 2011. There are nearly 60,000 nurses and paramedics. Under the current government, beds in government hospitals have also increased to 85,627 in 2019 from 58,647 in 2011. Now, patients from neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal come to West Bengal for treatment.

However, there has been an observable trend that 30-35 per cent of the patients of the state visit Vellore in Tamil Nadu for treatment, causing revenue loss to the state government as well as private hospitals in Kolkata. Even as many of the panelists agreed that Kolkata has the potential to become the medical hub of southeast Asia, some also highlighted grey areas or “roadblocks” that are holding it back.

Senior officials from the health and family welfare department, senior doctors, and representatives of prominent hospitals from Kolkata and adjoining areas present on the occasion took part in the discussion as audience members too.

Speaking about medical tourism, Raj Bhattacharyya, CEO, Iris Hospital, said, “A lot of change will come about in the next 15-20 years. One of the major boosts that has happened in the health sector in Bengal is the Swastha Sathi Card. Lot of cardiology cases etc. used to travel to south India for treatment but now we see that many prefer to get treatment from here. It has reversed the entire trend.”

During the panel discussion, many also highlighted that despite having infrastructure, many still lack confidence in their own infrastructure and prefer other medical destinations for treatment available locally. “We, the people of Kolkata and Bengal, aren’t confident of our own infrastructure. Somehow when we go out we love to talk badly about Kolkata and when we are here, we say how much we love Kolkata. I think we also have to get into a behavioral mechanism which is more appropriate. If we don’t change our behavior as a whole we cannot promote something that’s good. To put more perspective, let me tell you all that the institute that we run is the most efficient, technologically advanced and most profitable pan India. There is a need for continuous engagement. Unfortunately, 70 per cent of business today in the name of Medical tourism comes from Bangladesh and 30 per cent is from other countries and that needs a change,” said Arindam Chakraborty, Regional Director of NOVA fertility center.

Dhiman Paul, senior divisional manager, New India Insurance, said “It is no longer a day dream that Kolkata will have the best of super specialty and multi-specialty hospitals. Now anything and everything you can get here, but the real problem is the capacity building. Insurance policies play a vital role in capacity building. In West Bengal we have Swastha Sathi, an insurance policy spread over the masses. If I am allowed to say that semi-urban rural areas want to avail medical facilities in Kolkata they can and Swastha Sathi policy will be helping them.”

Dr Brojen Choudhury, senior consultant, Health World Hospital, Durgapur, highlighted how it is not just Kolkata but several sub-urban areas and districts that have come up with health infrastructure that matches the best facilities in the country.

“Kolkata and its surrounding areas is already a medical hub. I am sure in the next ten years, we will reach the peak of our success and definitely we will be the best among others,” he said.

Speaking on why Kolkata has still failed to build a brand in terms of being a medical hub, Ratnakar (Ratnakara)Rao said, “We are moving in the right direction. Although we have the best hospital and medical colleges not only in Kolkata but also in suburbs such as Durgapur, Asansol and other parts we lack in branding and packaging skills. It is a long journey because perception has to change. It is important to recognise our inner strength. Confidence in our medical infrastructure, our doctors, and our own schemes. Branding Kolkata as a good medical destination is a unanimous task.”

The panel members claimed that around six lakh patients come to India from Bangladesh for treatment in India out of which 4 lakh avail medical services in Kolkata.

“It is a big disparity in the healthcare system that when you see a nurse in the UK and USA they seem to be very confident, and move head to head with doctors and consultants. One of the very pertinent issues here is pay parity. They get handsomely paid there. This is one grey area and if India or Bengal wants to be a medical destination, nurses need to be paid well so that they can walk confidently,” said Prakash Nair, Chief Marketing Officer, AMRI.

Executive Health Officer of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, Dr Abhoy Dey, during the health conclave highlighted the initiatives taken by KMC on mental health.

“KMC is upgrading its health facility. We are trying to bring discussion on mental health at grassroot level. We have started two training programme – Moner Alo under which we are empowering the doctors so that they have the confidence to provide treatment to mental patients and under ‘Mon Bhalo’ paramedical staff are being trained. Our aim is to take mental health to grassroot level to fight stigma related to it,” he said.

The conference also addressed another important topic on mental health.

“Stigma is equal to fear. If you are scared of something you will stray away from it. Ignorance is the problem. People need to know more about mental illness, and more and more awareness programmes. There is an indirect way and it is to bring such people more amongst us. Familiarity reduces fear. If you let people know that this person suffers from mental illness it helps the society to learn about it, don’t hide family members who suffer from mental illness, take them to family functions. Make them part of the society. If you have an autistic child or any member suffering from schizophrenia, bring them to the mainstream. Do not keep them behind four walls of your house,” said Dr Prathama Chaudhuri, senior consultant, Caring Minds.

“Inclusiveness is very important, a major issue with autistic children is communication. They cannot communicate. Include them in the mainstream,” added Nilanjana Mukherjee.

Dr. Praveen Kumar, child and adolescent psychiatrist, Institute of Neuro Science spoke about how pandemic has affected the growing mind.

“The [Covid-19] pandemic has changed the way we look at the world. It had a significant impact on children and we are still seeing the impact. Children have started using the internet for 12-15 hours. There is a significant rise in Internet addiction. Many children have attention issues. Due to increased screen time, many are suffering from speech delay which is not autism. Mental health in children has taken a big toss post pandemic,” said Dr. Kumar.

“The burden of stigma is massive when it comes to mental health. Today’s globalisation is based on the Internet. We don’t have face-to-face conversations. It is a global issue with us relying on social media. Clinical changes showing newer diagnosis, newer symptoms. Cyber bullying, number of suicide is increasing like anything and it definitely concerns everyone. We have to start from the beginning if we want to work on mental health and include patients suffering from it in the mainstream,” said Prof Gautam Bandhyopadhyay, head, Department of Psychiatry, Medical College & Hospital of Kolkata