No matter which city you are residing in, proximity to a world-class hospital that delivers top-notch medical and health services at reasonable prices will always be paramount. The necessity of coming up with such superlative medical and health facilities in a bustling sub-city like Dwarka was discerned by the founding members of Venkateshwar Group.
Regarded as one of the best multi-speciality hospitals in West Delhi, it is equipped with 325 beds, 100 critical care beds, 34 specialties and 10 modular operation theatres.
“With the help of its dedicated team of specialists and medical staff coupled with world-class medical amenities and modern equipment, we strive to be leaders in the healthcare field in Delhi and NCR. Since inception, the thought of our management was that we want to be an institution for the middle class. We believed that such kinds of facilities are required in Dwarka. We were the first institution to set up this super speciality in Dwarka. It is for the masses that we have set up this institution for. Going forward, we will be catering to people who are at the bottom of the pyramid,” said Kamal Solanki, CEO, Venkateshwar Hospital, and a second-generation entrepreneur.
Homegrown Healthcare
It is to be mentioned that the Venkateshwar Hospital is a first-of-its-kind healthcare institution in the country which is furnished by Paramount Japan in terms of furniture and equipment. The homegrown firm has also collaborated with leading medical insurance providers and has made provisions to provide cashless treatment for insured patients.
When asked what gives Venkateshwar Hospital an edge over other healthcare majors which are also establishing their facilities in Dwarka, Solanki added, “Over here, state of the art technology and dedicated medical practitioners have been brought together under one roof for giving ethical medical care and ensuring value for money offerings.”
The hospital offers a complete range of medical services in all departments comprising Cardiology, Gynaecology, Orthopaedics, Gastro, Neurology, Oncology, Internal Medicine, Bariatric and Weight Loss, Physiotherapy, Pain Management, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. The 24*7 services provided are Emergency services, Imaging Services, Pharmacy Services, Laboratory Services, In-Patients Services and Blood Bank Services.
As the whole world grapples with coronavirus, Venkateshwar Hospital has come up to serve at the frontline to fight the virus and eradicate it wholly. It has created additional facilities to accommodate the novel coronavirus suspects. Isolation wards with adequate medical facilities have been formed so that there is no room for treatment delays in this time of emergency. Sufficient medical facilities are available for the patients who are tested positive and the establishment is fully prepared to create more isolation wards if needed.
Covid Warfront
On learnings from Covid, Solanki stated, “We were never prepared for an outbreak of this magnitude. At that point in time, there were no nurses or doctors available in the city because of the care that was given at home. The right thing any institution would do is train its staff. So it was about managing your resources and how to manage those many patients at that point of time was a critical part for any institution. It has to be broken down with the kind of severity that the patient has and what kind of doctor does the patient need. We need to have the right kind of ICU experts to look after those patients. While pulmonary experts may be visiting the ICU twice or thrice but all the ICU experts are looking after the patient 24/7. So having the right team, dividing the patients into various kinds of zones and areas and what kind of facilities you would be needing is the critical part of the management of this disease.”
The hospital has ensured that the doctors and medical staff are strictly abiding by the directions laid down by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for diagnosing and treating Covid-19 patients. It is being touted as one of the best coronavirus testing centres in India owing to its prompt service delivery. It has also procured a sufficient number of N95 masks and other essential equipment. It has also taken stern measures so that no one, other than the doctors and nurses, can enter the isolation wards.
Preparing For Wave Three
When queried about its preparations for the third wave, Solanki revealed, “We will be putting in more oxygen tanks. Having more oxygen lines to as many beds as possible is key to it. So, there will be a supply for two to three days (of oxygen) at the hospital. While OPDs will be done online, distributing the patients and giving them the right kind of treatment would be predetermined. “However, he maintained, “Running an ICU and a normal ward is a very dynamic process because you never know what kind of patient mix are you getting (in the third wave) and which patient from ward would be needing an ICU. So basically, having a pre-fixed infrastructure for a particular day will not be working in this case. What needs to be done is what the institution needs to adapt to. We need to increase the number of beds by 15-20 per cent if the need arises.”
On Covid testing in the future, Solanki maintained, “We got around 300 odd beds and the testing capability is 240 (per day). So, any Covid patient coming into our hospital would be occupying our bed here for 10 days. Ergo, the number of admissions will not be exceeding 60-70 admissions a day.”
He also said that the hospital carries out the CBNAAT Covid-19 test, which is an alternate cartridge-based nucleic acid amplification test (CBNAAT) and is reportedly quicker than the RTPCR test and the machines for the test are also easily available across the country.
Medium-term Goals
Meanwhile, Venkateshwar Group has earmarked Rs 150 crore for building an oncology centre adjacent to its existing premises in Dwarka. Once established, the 150-bed hospital would be the largest dialysis facility in West Delhi and would be equipped with 35 such purpose machines.
“Once this new facility is built, then we will be able to think beyond this hospital’s premises. We are on course to have satellite clinics in Rohtak, Janak Puri, Vikas Puri, Uzbekistan, Kenya and Africa.”
When asked to spell out his vision for the company, Solanki affirmed, “It is because of the untiring efforts of the dedicated stalwarts of this healthcare facility such as the doctors, nurses and the support staff that it has been able to grow and make new advancements every day. The ultimate objective of this healthcare centre stands to be better patient care. Also, we want to be a very ethical and good institution. The idea of the promoter is to be able to cater to the masses. Whoever is living in Dwarka should have access to a good healthcare system. We want to have more international patients coming in. But the focus will remain on domestic patients.”