BS RAWAT
FICCI President Dr Sangita Reddy has said that the ongoing Covid related challenges, decline in OPD footfalls, and higher cost of consumables continue to cripple the healthcare sector in the country.

Speaking about the healthcare crisis in the country, Dr Reddy explained that many small hospitals and nursing homes in Tier II & III cities have become non-operational due to the challenges of liquidity and cash flow, numerous have been shut down.

The hospitals are now facing acute financial distress given that they need to keep all their services and facilities functioning to be able to provide healthcare services to the citizens, she added.

Adding to the list of existing woes the FICCI president noted that there has been a significant increase in the price of medical oxygen cylinders in the past couple of months.

Even as India gears up for a gradual and a complete Unlock, there is no denying that low financial performance, deferring elective surgeries, and restrictions on international travel will continue to contribute to low footfalls from national and international patients, she further said.

However, a significant part of private hospitals’ bed capacities have been reserved for Covid patients and as per information publicly available, the current occupancy on such beds is in the range of 55-60 per cent. Therefore, the hospitals are facing severe constraints and strain on bed capacity for treating Non- Covid patients, which is presently running near full, she further expressed.