EHM People

The New Face Of AoH

Col M Masand, Director General of Mumbai-based Jaslok Hospital, recently stepped in the shoes of the illustrious Brig Joe Curian, CEO of S L Raheja Hospital, as the new President of the Association of Hospitals (AoH). The new role has taken Masand by surprise. "Frankly, I was not expecting it," confesses the 61-year-old Col Masand.

Although Col Masand was taken aback by his unanimous election, he is crystal clear about what he wants to achieve during his one-year tenure. "I will concentrate on keeping the members united, erase politics in the association and will bring about total transparency," promises Col Masand, who is dabbling in healthcare for the last 14 years.

He also wants to ensure that trust hospitals abide by the recent High Court directive on charity. In addition, he wants smaller hospitals to be actively involved in the association and vice versa. When we nail him about what challenges he might face, he candidly states, "Working in sync can prove to be a challenge."

Catching The Devil Young

Concerned about low awareness about diabetes in India, 70-year-old Diabetologist and Medical Director of Madurai-based Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre (MMHRC), Dr VN Rajasekaran has chalked out plans to spread awareness about this deadly disease among school students. Why school students? As the knowledge about the debilitating effects of diabetes should be spread from a tender age to avoid complications later. Appointed as the Principal of Jairaj Nadar Ammapackiam Higher Secondary School, Madurai, four months back, he started his crusade by flagging off the first medical camp in the first week of October, this year.

At the camp organised by MMHRC, students were distributed forms to be filled by their parents about their family history of diabetes, if any. "I also roped in ophthalmologists, dentists and dermatologists for this camp," beams Dr Rajasekaran. Around 2,400 students from standard 6-12 were screened in the five-day camp.

"I had started providing information about diabetes amongst students before the camp was held," he informs, adding, "Around two-thirds of the students were suffering from scabies, anaemia, refractory error of the eye, respiratory infection and allergy bronchitis." Also, 19 students' parents were detected to have type I diabetes. "These students were sure to become diabetic in the near future," adds Dr Rajsekaran. Apart from students, out of 78 staff members, 21 were detected suffering from diabetes while 14 were detected of suffering from diabetes as well as hypertension.

Understanding The Intelligent Microbe

World renowned Medical Microbiologist Prof Jean-Claude Pechere was in India recently to address issues revolving around bacterial resistance to antibiotics. "Microbes are very intelligent because they can innovate, learn from each other and exchange DNA and change so fast before human beings can find new drugs to tackle them," says Pechere, an Emeritus Professor to the School of Medicine, University of Geneva. He expressed his concerns about India, where antibiotic resistance is high. Extended Specturm Beta Lactmase (ESBLs) and Amp C Beta Lactamase production are the commonest mechanisms of resistance observed among bacteria causing serious infection in India. "India should have national antibiotic policy. Initiatives like appropriate hospital infection control practices and appropriate use of antibiotics are the only solutions to curtail bacterial resistance," advises Prof Pechare. Involved in projects of education and development in poor areas of Asia and Africa, he has penned the thriller, 'The Intelligent Microbe', combining virtuously high science and thoughtful philosophy.

Getting Into The Groove

After working for over a decade as an Assistant Professor in Department of Neurosurgery, Seth GS Medical College & KEM Hospital, Mumbai, Dr Ketan Desai has recently joined P D Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai, as a Consultant Neurosurgeon. "After working for so many years at KEM, I felt the need to grow further. I choose Hinduja as it is renowned for its good set-up," says the 39-year-old Dr Desai, who has to his credit 150 cases of brachial plexus injuries including neurolysis, nerve grafting and nerve transfers.

He is among the few neurosurgeons to routinely use intraoperative nerve conduction monitoring. Working at Hinduja, he says, will keep him on his toes. "I was used to being a salaried employee earlier. Now, I have to manage patients more carefully. As a consultant, you cannot take things lightly and are expected to give better results every time," he enthuses. "I know I will pick up fast as in the end, experience is what helps and with that by my side, everything will fall in place eventually," he quips. Powered by his rich experience and the will to excel, it will not be long for Dr Desai to be completely in charge of his new role.

Spearheading A Noble Cause

It is estimated that in India, every year over 1,00,000 people diagnosed with kidney failure need transplantation. However, due to non-availability of organs, only 2,500 kidney transplants are conducted. Majority of these patients are young and their only hope to live is if they receive a donor organ. This has moved Mumbai-based renowned transplant surgeon and the secretary of the Zonal Transplant Co-ordination Centre (ZTCC) Dr Vatsala Trivedi, 59, to kickstart 'Initiative for Cadaveric Organ Donation (ICON) Awareness Campaign', a public awareness campaign about cadaveric organ transplantation.

"Cadaveric organ donation is a very sensitive issue and through this initiative we want to generate awareness in the general public about brain stem death and procedures of organ transplantation," avers Dr Trivedi. In her opinion, only legalising the term brain death will not serve the purpose, but what is required is public sensitisation on a mass scale. Deeply involved in the cause, she also wants to take this campaign at the national level. Under Dr Trivedi's guidance, ICON wants to make a major breakthrough in different spears of the society. Recently, a stall was put up at Lalbaug-cha-Raja by ZTCC during Ganesh Chaturthi provided by ICON to reach out to thousands of devotees and garner support. ICON also created a blogsite to reach out to the vast number of internet users, corporates, executive officers and students where articles are posted to spread the word.