Gurgaon (Haryana), May 3 (ANI): Supporting every Indian's right to healthcare and keen to introduce and promote fresh models of healthcare delivery, Dr. Dharminder Nagar, Managing Director of Paras Healthcare, says he has always been guided by a mission to provide "accessible and affordable medical assistance to every strata of society.
In an interview given to ANI, Dr. Nagar said his long-term aim is to empower each patient with the right to ask or seek a model of healthcare best suited to him or her, as also to impart greater awareness about healthy living practices to ensure longevity of life.
"Everybody talks about accessibility and affordability. We, at Paras, are living it. I am determined to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. I want to be a partner in the health of the common man. Every single individual in Paras is united to deliver top quality healthcare to one and all," Dr. Nagar told ANI.
Describing himself as a leader in the medical profession with a strong social bent of mind and very committed to providing healthcare solutions to every common man, Dr. Nagar said that as far as Paras Healthcare is concerned, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and quality are integral mantras followed by the three hospitals currently run by it, i.e. Paras Hospital Gurgaon, Paras Spring Meadows in South Delhi and Paras HMRI in Patna.
"I am of the view that the rich in our society are spoilt for choice, and therefore, I am not consciously focused on them, but rather on the middle and rural classes. I looking at offering good quality, efficiently delivered, value for money healthcare," he said.
He said that a fourth hospital of the Paras group will be launched later this year in Bihar's Darbhanga district, which would be the region's first privately-run and managed hospital to have an ICU, cardiac facility and a fully-equipped in-house diagnostic facility.
"I want to remain true to my core values, original philosophies, which is to educate people on the need for a regulatory mechanism to monitor health awareness. We are in Bihar in spite of everything and not all discouraged to open a hospital in Patna or Darbhanga. I would be more than happy to lose people (patients) who can't accept our way of healthcare delivery, and chose to go to more expensive outfits because it is attuned with their social status and financial clout," Said Dr. Nagar.
When informed about another privately-run medical group recently launching Delhi-NCR's first human milk bank, Dr. Nagar said Paras Healthcare is also very committed to the health of women and children, and has launched specialized maternity, neonatology and pediatric centers in Chandigarh and New Delhi under the brand name of Paras Bliss.
"We are short of seven lakh hospital beds in this country. Between 2002 and 2012, the ratio of beds per 1000 patients ranged between 0.72 and 1.3. The WHO says it should be 3.5 beds per 1000 and as of now, by 2020, India will have 2.3 beds per 1000. At Paras healthcare, we have 750 beds that are operational in 2016, are aiming for 2000 beds by 2019 and 5000 beds by 2025," Dr. Nagar told ANI.
"The Indian medical fraternity is currently working in silos. We desperately need integration. The government is on the right path insofar as its "Make in India" and "Skill India" initiatives are concerned. All of us need to support these initiatives. The mindset has to change; we need to stop looking at others with suspicion. We need to take on challenges head-on and be passionate in achieving our objectives," he added.
Providing healthcare in remote and unchartered territories has been a vision of Paras healthcare since it was established in 2006. By 2020, Paras Healthcare intends to establish six more hospitals in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities in North India and generate revenue of Rs.1500 crore.
Dr. Nagar says he is guided by realistic and good aspirations, which in turn allow him to offer affordable excellent schemes with the right intent and desire to execute. The icing would be a level-playing field in Indian healthcare.
