Feature

Dance Away Your Blues

When the health of the healthcare personnel is under threat, hospitals are bringing innovative ways to de-stress them, finds out Nancy Singh.

A lady trainer teaching salsa to a doctor at PD Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai

Dr Gustav Davar, Medical Superintendent, PD Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai and former Dean of Grant Medical College, starts his day at eight in the morning that can go up to eight in the night. This is his daily routine. But when former BJP MP Pramod Mahajan was admitted at Hinduja, Dr Davar's schedule changed to 24X7.

Such drastic changes in time schedules are not new to people in the medical field. Though it may or may not leave them stressed depending on individual capabilities, their personal life does take a backseat, leaving them with little or no time for leisure. Hospitals have realised this and are waking up to the importance of providing its employees breathers and time for themselves.

Stressed Out

It is a fact that an acute shortage in the healthcare system in India leads to most doctors working for 14-16 hours a day. So much for a community that's helping others live a healthy life tends to ignore it’s own health.

"Most doctors and staff do neglect their own health," says Dr Ravindra Karanjekar, Associate Vice-President, Head - Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai. "For them, patients are priority than their own health. A few of them neglect even their family's health due to their busy schedule."

"Hospitals are not 'normal' workplaces in a sense. Here, critical illnesses, unfortunate mishaps, accidents, etc are everyday events. For instance, doctors are required to console a father who has been told about the death of his 24-year-old son. The profession requires extraordinary tolerance," believes Dr S Balasubramaniam, Medical Superintendent, Lifeline Hospital.

"Doctors and the medical staff need to have four qualities - physical strength, emotional strength or strong EQ, spiritual strength and intellectual strength," says Dr Balasubramaniam.

This is the only place where you can witness a gamut of emotions ranging from happiness to heartbreaks to hope to agony and ecstasy, and while for most of us, such experiences spread to a lifetime, a doctor witnesses it everyday!

"The nature of our work can emotionally drain doctors, as they are at times on 24X7 duty attending to patients all the time, and finds ways to save their lives, as most of the times it is a matter of life and death," says Ankush Gupta, Manager-HR, PD Hinduja Hospital, Mumbai.

But Dr KC Reddy, Chief Executive and Chief of Urology Department, Devaki Hospital, Chennai, has another take on stress, "It also depends on the size of the hospital. A small hospital will be less stressful. Most times one is stressed when the shift timings are inadequate. Certain specialities like paediatric, cardiac, neurosurgery are stressful. I have always worked in a happy environment. Helping the patients is immensely satisfying and the reasons for my stress are non-medical."

Though, some amount of pressure helps, "limited stress brings out the best from an individual," says Dr Karanjekar, "but excessive stress leads to fatigue and then invariably errors. Therefore, some kind of relaxation and better work environment will help," he suggests.

Breathe Free

Like most hospitals, Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai has a yoga centre for patients and employees

That's probably why hospitals are paying heed to let employees breathe free. Most hospitals conduct yoga sessions every day. While normally, such facilities are for patients, it is extended to doctors and medico-professionals as well.

Having a yoga-centre in hospitals has many benefits. What is required is an empty room, so it means negligible investment. The exercises are not tiring as the focus is more on breathing, than heavy body movements, that soothe the mind. This makes yoga the ultimate as well as an effective de-stresser. Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai is a case in point. It has a Department of Preventive Cardiology and Cardiac Rehabilitation with programmes that offer primary and secondary prevention. "The cardiac rehab programme includes supervised exercise, yoga, nutritional and psychiatric counselling, along with lifestyle modifications," says Dr Pratima Rajan, Consultant & Head - Department of Preventive Cardiology & Cardiac Rehabilitation, Jaslok Hospital. Similarly, at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore, "A yoga centre is available at the premises wherein all employees and doctors are eligible to a concession, and guidance is provided by experts," says Biju V John, GM (HR), Manipal Health Systems, Bangalore. Apart from this, "a gym to ensure health at the workplace by inculcating a healthy workout regime was begun last year and made available to all employees including doctors," adds John.

Wockhardt Hospital, Mumbai also conducts yoga and relaxation classes. "Apart from this, we have sessions on interpersonal and leadership skills, as well as programmes on cross-cultural sensitivity," adds Dr Karanjekar.

Some hospitals, like Delhi-based Sir Gangaram Hospital, extend the facility built for patients to doctors. "There is no initiative taken by hospitals to de-stress employees, but the staff is always free to attend the yoga sessions meant for patients," says B Thukral, Administrative Officer, Sir Gangaram Hospital, New Delhi.

Spiritually speaking, every Thursday, KG Hospital, Coimbatore conducts 'satsung' (spiritual preaching) for an hour. "This energises our employees to give their best," says Dr G Bakthavathsalam, Chairman, KG Hospital. It also deputes doctors and managers to undergo 'Art of Living’ Courses from time to time.

Play Station

Hospital staff sweating it out at the state-of-the-art gym at Manipal Hospital, Bangalore

Hospitals also organise events and sports games. Dr LH Hiranandani, Mumbai, organises cricket tournaments frequently. "Hiranandani is a big group, so we encourage participation from in-house staff to compete with other groups. We also have a huge library that, in addition to profession-related books, has magazines for light reading," says Dr Sujit Chatterjee, CEO, Dr L H Hiranandani Hospital. He believes that doctors are more stressed out because of long duty hours and hence, "we assure that they do not over-work and hence stick to the 48 hours-per-week work-limit set by the Government." It also conducts an 'open-house' by calling all stakeholders to the lowest-grade employee to share their experiences and grievances. The hospital has placed 'drop-boxes' for employees to vent their grievances anonymously.

Hinduja Hospital organises cricket matches between doctors and staff on a yearly basis. Other ways to beat stress are outdoor events that involve trekking and games to enhance leadership skills and encourage team spirit. "We conduct outdoor events with lot of activity and games," says Rupak Barua, Chief Operating Officer, Kolkata Medical Research Institute, Kolkata. Wockhardt, Hinduja, Dr L H Hiranandani also follow this pattern.

Narayana Hrudayalaya, (Bangalore) holds psychological counselling for doctors and also teaches them ways to unwind, says KV Vasuki GM, Corporate Relations.

To top all the above-mentioned methods, Hinduja Hospital has come up with a unique idea—dancing. It conducts salsa classes every Thursday. "Salsa is known for its dynamism and rhythmic beats, involving fast movements that transcends to high physical energy and thus makes for a great workout. "Since it was not possible to establish a gym or some aerobics workout station, the next best thing was salsa," adds Gupta.

The initiative has been so well received that, what just started as an experiment is now a regular activity at Hinduja. The dance classes are conducted by Sandeep Soparkar.

Where's the Party Tonight?

Hiranandani Hospital organises cricket tournaments every year

Most of us may not require a reason to party, but doctors do! Hence, days like Doctor's Day (July 1) and Nurse's Day (May 12) are celebrated with excitement, in addition to the sponsored corporate parties. "Nurses perform onstage in a wonderful display of artistic talent in terms of music, dance and play," says John. Hospitals also celebrate prominent days like World Heart Day (September24), Kidney Survivors' Day, International Women's Day (March 8), and World Diabetic Day (November 14). "Here, patients who have undergone surgeries share their experience along with their relatives and friends. Doctors are thanked for the surgeries and this makes it a very emotional scene," elaborates Dr Bakthavatsalam.

KG Hospital organises 'special walks' to commemorate certain important events. Awards like 'Personality of the Decade Award' are bestowed on people who have achieved eminence in their field over the years. The recipient list also boasts of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, President of India.

"Our HR Department takes care to see that our doctors are provided with the right climate and environment to work. They are subjected to undergo relaxation programmes periodically," says Dr Bakthavatsalam.

Training and CMEs feature regularly in a doctor's life. "It is work plus pleasure. We hold get-togethers almost every month and when it comes to certain educative programmes there is always a pre-event and post-event party. So, it's more of education and entertainment for us," says Praveen, Marketing Manager, Lakeshore Hospital, Kochi.

Where's the Time?

Doctors and staff of Hiranandani Hospital,Mumbai eagerly waiting to start the lemon race!

But, where is the time? This seems to be the question doctors are asking. Doctors, today, who work to live and make others live, are totally exhausted and some succumb to the pressure. "Paucity of time is a constraint and hence we make the most of what is available. Still, such initiatives are very few and far between and are at a nascent stage. It's not like the US or the UK where a doctor immediately changes into sports gear and heads to the gym," agrees Gupta.

The HR needs to take a more active and aggressive approach."The HR is the custodian of people welfare in the hospital. Every action of HR must be directed towards the well being of the employees. It has definite role to play in reliving the stressful condition of the employees. More relaxation programmes intermixed with the work is expected from an HR Department," agrees Dr Karanjekar.

Nevertheless, a step has been taken in the right direction, as with the corporate culture creeping in healthcare, hospitals are realising the importance of providing relaxation and de-stressing policies. For, when it comes to us, we can still afford to be stressed out at times, but when it comes to doctors, it can indeed become a crucial matter of life and death.

nancy.singh@expressindia.com