The Role of a Hospital in Society

(Excerpts of Sujay Shyamanoor's speech at Baldwin's Alumni Meet, Bangalore)

You will find this saying interesting – Constant attention by a good nurse maybe just as important as a major operation by a surgeon. When the former and very formidable UN secretary general Dag Hammarskjöld said this he surely meant  that care equals, if not exceeds cure.

When we speak of a hospital the first images that might come to most of our minds is fear, anxiety, apprehension even distrust…. in short, zero relationship. Nobody wants to have anything to do with a hospital but this is simply  a matter of perspective or how we generally look at things.

 

Baldwin's School Alumni Meet pics

One visit to a hospital for a general checkup - just when you think you don’t need it - can typically save ten probable admissions or surgeries over the lifetime of an average individual and this is no exaggeration. I will not ask for a show of hands but I may not be wrong when I say that the majority of visitors to this event today will not have taken a general health check and will certainly not have felt the need or importance of medical health cover. 


You, young folk are looking to shape exciting careers, sooner than later. The invisible but important element to a successful career will be your good health. Developing an early relationship with your hospital will be the game changer.

Talking about careers, when I started off in 1985, healthcare was not even a sector. Names were only names not brands as we understand today. A hospital was a hospital was a hospital. Why, it was even unheard of to have a non-doctor at the helm of affairs. If I may add, a woman and a non-doctor heading a healthcare setup was unthinkable... Today, a lot of things have changed - the healthcare sector is refreshing, challenging and rewarding. You no longer have to be only a doctor or a nurse to work in this field… hospital managers, insurance co ordinators, biomedical engineers, physiotherapists, nutritionists, radiographers, counselors, public relations, medico legal lawyers, financial accounting and not to leave myself out – entrepreneurs. There is a whole plethora of opportunities awaiting you!

In closing, a few lines on my work. To make an enterprise successful - keep it simple, keep it practical, stress on quality, offer value for money and value your relationships... If I had to sum these 5 points with just two words I would say, offer Patient, Care.

Sujay Shyamanoor is Managing Director, Diagram Healthcare.