Need industry support to procure oxygen and necessary drugs: Rajesh Tope 

Rajesh Tope, Minister for Public Health and Family Welfare, Govt of Maharashtra today urged FICCI members to aid Maharashtra with tertiary healthcare facilities at the district and taluka levels. He also sought industry’s assistance in procuring necessary drugs like Remdesivir, oxygen concentrators, PSA (Pressure Swing Absorption) Nitrogen Generators, increasing liquid oxygen storage capacities, among others. He also urged industry members to adopt some of the villages and talukas to help the government in its fight against the virus.

Addressing the virtual interactive session with FICCI Health Industry Delegation, Tope noted that there are various sectors where the industry, through its CSR or philanthropic initiatives, could help the state’s healthcare sector that is currently reeling under a severe deficit of healthcare facilities. He further stated that the state is facing a glaring deficit regarding life-saving essentials during these times. “There is a huge requirement of 10 LPM Oxygen Concentrators, PSA generators, drugs like Remdesivir and vaccines. The industry can help the state by bridging the gap between demand and supply of life-saving essentials,” he noted.

“The numbers (of COVID positive patients) keep increasing every day. The peak is expected by mid-May, and the hospitals are already overwhelmed. The availability of doctors and other medical staff has become worrisome at present. We urge the industry to come forward with concepts like tele-ICU, where diagnosis and treatment could be done remotely. Technology being utilised is the need of time today, especially in towns where tertiary healthcare is a matter of concern. FICCI can play a vital role here by helping us procure X-Ray, ECG, and Dialysis machines, among others, for sub-district hospitals,” he said.

Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Chair, FICCI Maharashtra & CEO, Kinetic Green Energy & Power Solutions said that FICCI in the last one year has been playing an active role in collaborating with the government and the industry in resolving many bottlenecks that were faced by the industry in operating in these difficult times.

Speaking about the road ahead, Motwani said, “Specific requirements need to be mapped at the state level and then taken to our members from the healthcare sector to bring specific solutions.”

Various industry representatives assured the Minister of the industry’s commitment to help the state during these times. Dr Sharavan Subramanyam, Managing Director, GE Healthcare, Sanjiv Johar, President, APAC, Abbott Rapid Diagnostics;  Gautam Khanna, Co-Chair, FICCI Health Services Committee and CEO, PD Hinduja Hospital; Dr Sujit Chatterjee, CEO, Hiranandani Hospital; Sunil Khurana, BPL Technologies; Sarthak Ranade, Managing Director, Janssen India; Joseph Gerald, Senior VP, Sun Pharma; Shirish Sankhe, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company, India; Samir Somaiya, CMD, Somaiya Group, among others, reiterated their willingness to work together with the state government in tiding through these difficult times.