Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute bags awards for fight against COVID during Pandemic

COVID Pandemic – Challenges

 

When India started it’s fighting against COVID by imposing strict lock down, patients undergoing long term treatment for aliments such as CANCER also faced several hardships.   As the treatment pertaining to Cancer goes on for days and weeks especially those undergoing radiation therapy or Chemotherapy.  Further the treatment has to be provided uninterruptedly without any breaks.   Risks of being with less immunity, the cancer patients are more prone to COVID is another challenge faced by them.  Above all their problems compounded with strict lockdown that created lot of hardships in reaching hospital from their homes.

 

By Facing all these risks and hardships when these patients reach hospital then providing treatment required for them is the major challenge faced by BIACH&RI in its life time.  One side it has to ensure that doctors and staff working with hospitals will not get COVID and another side it has to ensure that the cancer patients who are already with less immunity will also not acquire COVID virus.   Further it has to identify and separate those patients, who already got COVID.

 

Special Action Plan

 

BIACH&RI has decided to take on these challenges by creating special action plan under the leadership of Dr RV Prabhakar Rao, CEO, BIACH&RI.  Accordingly Dr Rao has started putting the devised action plan quickly in its place along with its doctors, staff members.  They started implementing following emergency measures….

 

1. Thermal Screening was introduced at each every entrance of a building in the premises of the hospital and deputed Nursing Staff has started identifying those with symptoms.
2. Arrangements for hand washing with Soap and sanitizers were made available at every entrance and exit. Further the special demonstrations were undertaken by Nursing Staff to create awareness about hand wash and hygiene practices.
3. Those with suspected symptoms are taken directly to a separate isolation wards created in the hospital and the COVID tests were performed on them. With this arrangement, hospital has successfully separated those with COVID symptoms thus preventing the spread of the disease to others.  An emergency ICU with all required oxygen supplies at bed side was ensured so that they can receive proper treatment.
4. A special permission was taken from State Government to provide treatment to Cancer Patients, who acquired COVID.

 

With all the above measures, Hospital could successfully identify the suspected COVID patients who are coming for treatment and also enable them to undergo further treatment after being shifted to special isolation wards.  These measures ensured that Cancer Patients could get uninterrupted treatment even after they acquire COVID.

 

Measures to ensure that treating doctors and staff members doesn’t acquire COVID

 

After successfully ensuring that treatment is provided to cancer patients with above measures, another challenge faced by hospital is to ensure that those involved in providing treatment and other services will not acquire COVID.  Despite it is a difficult task to achieve, Hospital started taking several strict measures as stated below.

 

1. Treatment Doctors, Staff was provided with PPE Kits, Face Masks, Face Shield Covers, and Special Gowns that covers entire body, Head Gears, Special goggles to ensure that they are protected.
2. Entire hospital is sanitized twice a day and staff members were given special training to protect themselves from contracting COVID.
3. Despite all these measures, a staff member was detected COVID positive on 12^th June 2020. Well prepared for such scenario, Management under the leadership of Sri Nandamuri Balakrishna has already decided to provide free treatment to staff members along with their family members, who acquire COVID.  Accordingly the team lead by Dr RV Prabhakar Rao, CEO, BIACH&RI has already created special COVID ward for staff members and also a separate ICU thus enabling the hospital to provide treatment immediately after testing them positive to COVID.

 

These measures undertaken have further emboldened the confidence among doctors, staff members involved in treatment.  Further the doctor’s team lead by Hospital CEO Dr RV Prabhakar Rao was monitoring the situation regularly by following necessary guidelines and instructions issued by state and central governments.  Accordingly they prepared and implemented special action plan thus ensuring that Hospital could run continuously without taking even a day break during entire lock down.

 

For this success in providing uninterrupted services to Cancer Patients, the credit goes to Sri Nandamuri Balakrishna and management team for providing the leadership and guidance along with the special action team lead by Dr RV Prabhakar Rao.  Both of them ensured that the BIACH&RI is the only health care facility in Hyderabad that has provided uninterrupted treatment services to its patients by ensuring that doctors and staff are available 100% as in normal days.   BIACH&RI is proud to state that it has not taken a small break at any given day even during strictest lock down imposed ensuring that their staff members reached the hospital without any problem.

 

Special Recognition and Awards

 

For this exclusive feat of providing successful treatment to cancer patients without any failure, the efforts of BIACH&RI was recognized by several governmental and nongovernmental organizations by empanelling the organization for several awards.

 

Accordingly Dr RV Prabhakar Rao, CEO, BIACH&RI who lead the team from front has been selected for Telangana Healthcare Leadership Award given by World Health and Wellness Congress.

 

Further Topgallant Media and Research Limited, Delhi has selected Dr RV Prabhakar Rao for his leadership efforts and also BIACH&RI separately for Special COVID Warrior Award given by them.  BIACH&RI is proud to receive the award from Sri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare in a virtual award presentation ceremony.

 

Apart from above recognitions and awards, the hospital was also ranked 6^th among Cancer Care Facilities across the nation by prestigious The Week Magazine.  The Week Magazine awards these ranks after thoroughly screening the health care facilities across the country.

 

With all these recognitions, BIACH&RI has once again proved that it will continue to provide world class cancer care at affordable rates under challenging circumstances also.