Where Daridra Narayan meets Vaidya Narayan

Code Blue, Emergency room! That’s all Padma Shri Dr G Bakthavathsalam needs to say to call for the attention of a team of specialists and support staff at KG Hospital in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, towards an emergency case. In split seconds, the telephone operator complies with the command and a message booms through the speakers installed at various parts of the state-of-the-art hospital: “Your attention please: Code Blue, Emergency Room.” The announcement is made once more, and in less than a minute, four doctors, including a cardiac specialist, a general doctor, a neurologist, and a duty doctor, five nurses armed with emergency medical kits, and two stretcher-bearers are ready to attend to the emergency of the hour. The commitment, motive, and goal of the team are amply clear and simple – saving the life of a patient in a critical condition with strategic planning. 

 

By Tony William

That’s the new face of medical care, and KG Hospital is ever-ready to stand up for the cause of the common man. Dr GB, as the Chairman of KG Hospital is popularly known, is a man of his word as a surgeon, teacher, philanthropist, industrialist, and entrepreneur. And his vision has guided KG Hospital to great heights in medical excellence.

Now, coming back to Code Blue, is it something you get to hear or see at government hospitals? Most of them are neck deep in moody blues rather. That is, an uninspiring work environment where the mood is always dull, to say the least. How many doctors would be there in the emergency? Wouldn’t the onus of locating a doctor be on the nurse? Even if a doctor arrives on time, the support system may not be in place to meet the immediate needs of a critically ill patient. That is exactly where KG Hospital stands out. “Saving life should always be the topmost concern, irrespective of the criticality of a patient,” says Dr GB. “This basic sense of prioritisation reflects the preparedness of the medical staff. At KG Hospital, the patient comes first. Work is worship. The hospital is our temple. Maintaining the sanctity of this temple is our utmost concern,” says Dr GB.  

No doubt, he says, a great number of Indian healthcare institutions are capable of meeting the global standards in terms of quality and standard of care. “However, the centres of excellence are more of the nature of islands of excellence. They are unapproachable for people from weaker sections of society. In many hospitals, even the best specialists are not approachable. They never disclose their numbers to patients. But look at KG Hospital. I share my number with everyone. The emergency hour is always the Godly hour. If ‘God’ is unavailable at the hour of crisis, what will patients do?” 

What about the problem of commercialisation of healthcare? Dr GB says, “Healthcare is a business, a business of saving lives. Earlier, we had modest rooms and buildings. But now we have air-conditioned rooms because people want it. People are taking pre-emptive moves, trying to guard themselves against a host of diseases with early diagnosis.”

His daughter and President of KG Hospital, R Vasanthi, reasons: “Profit is only a by-product at KG Hospital. The profit made at KG Hospital is reinvested in the hospital itself for better services. No money goes out of the hospital. A hospital has to be run like a business, otherwise it won’t survive. Who would go to a hospital which is infamous for its irresponsible staff or poor quality management system?

“KG Hospital is managed in a cohesive manner. Our staff is our family,” says Vasanthi. Her father concurs, “It is very easy for an organisation to say that our employees are part of our extended family. But it is a tough task to bring about this transformation. Over the past 34 years, I have been able to achieve a success rate of about 90 per cent towards this end. The transformation process is long drawn. It is like brushing your teeth. You have to do it every day. If you fail to do it a single day, there will be foul smell. Doctors and their support staff should work as representatives of God. Whenever a ‘daridra narayan’ (poor person) knocks on the door, one must be ready to perform the duty of a ‘vaidya narayan’ (doctor) in the fullest capacity,” says Dr GB. “I ask my ‘family members’ to give their 100 per cent to their duties. I would never like to hear excuses from them in this regard. Duty always comes first,” says Dr GB.

 
KG Hospital, being run by a trust, was founded by K Govindasamy Naidu, an industrialist and philanthropist. What started out as a 10-bed hospital in 1974 is a 500-bed facility today, with 48 specialty departments. Cardiology, Cosmetology, Dermatology, Diabetology, Emergency, Endocrinology, Endoscopy, Gastroenterology, Geriatrics, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Paediatrics, Pulmonology, Rheumatolgy, Stroke Unit, Surgical Oncology are a few of KG Hospital’s core specialties. 

But how can we get the best of both worlds (East and West) in healthcare? Recalling his days in the US, Dr GB says that everything there is 40 per cent more costly than in India. “We have conducted about 95,000 free eye operations as of today. Charity-based medical care of this magnitude doesn’t happen in the US. We just have to ensure the right mix at the end of the day. So, the best a medical aspirant can think of is to get familiarised with the (efficient) American medical system through training and come back as an American in terms of expertise but an Indian to the core.” 

“Ignorance is the greatest disease in India. We don’t know what we are capable of. It is here that education can make a big difference. Why else would an auto driver become a slave of a three-inch cancer stick (beedis)? They are ignorant of the dangers,” says Dr GB.    

KG Hospital is best known for its cardiology and emergency departments. “Within a year, we plan to expand the oncology department,” says Vasanthi. That sounds promising indeed.

The mobile ICU of KG Hospital has been christened ‘Responder 2000’. A state-of-the-art mobile ICU ambulance has been playing a very crucial role in saving lives. The ambulance has all kinds of modern medical devices and equipment. “A few months ago, we admitted a man who could die from multiple organ failure. His condition had reached such a critical stage that none of the hospitals could offer him hope. We thought we could help him. Last week, he went home walking on his own. Who is the happiest man today? I am. My family was able to bring him back to life,” says Dr GB.

 
KG Hospital is in the forefront of introducing the latest medical technologies. The 128-Slice Computed Tomography (CT) scanner is revolutionising non-invasive diagnosis. This machine can scan the whole body within a few seconds and provide incredibly sharp 3D images of any organ. This technology is revolutionising diagnosis in Cardiology, Oncology, Neurology, and many other areas. 

KG Hospital has an active corporate social responsibility department as well. The hospital has conducted over 95,000 free intraocular eye surgeries, hundreds of free eye camps, and screened nearly 5,00,000 patients. In 2003, former President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, had inaugurated a novel free surgery programme for poor children of Tamil Nadu. Over 1,000 children have benefitted from this scheme. More than 500 free heart surgeries were conducted under the ‘Little Heart Foundation’ programme. Under a scheme called “Ilam Sirar Irudhaya Padhukappu Thittam”, an initiative of the Tamil Nadu Government, heart surgeries on 400 poor children were conducted. This scheme is still in operation. Besides, more than 3,000 people have been provided with free dialysis. 

Dr GB is a down to earth man. He knows how to stay connected to people and provide them with the right kind of care. His idea of care is simple and straightforward – “A doctor must be able, available, affordable, accountable, and adaptable. Doctors must work for 16 hours a day. The medical profession is divine. Each hour, we should strive to do the best and save as many lives as possible.”

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