Hot Seat

Relationship Personnel

'Serving with a smile' is a good gesture in hospitality. Dr N Padmanabhan, Medical Superintendent, Frontier Lifeline does wonders using the same principle in healthcare. K Deepalakshmi profiles him

Frontier Lifeline Hospital is fondly known as 'Cherian Hospital' to the people of Chennai by association with its founder Dr KM Cherian. There is another name familiar to many who have paid a visit to the premises. He is Dr N Padmanabhan, Medical Superintendent of the Hospital. All he does to get acquainted with the patients, attendants and visitors is flash a captivating smile, utter a few warm words and lend his ears to what others say. In no time, Dr Padmanabhan has managed to earn the name of 'relationship personnel' of the Hospital.

Dr Padmanabhan joined as Medical Superintendent of Frontier Lifeline two years ago after retiring from the Railways as Medical Director. Not restricting himself to just administrative activities, he has carved his impression in every department through his tool— interaction.

His office in the basement floor of the hospital is an open room, accessible to everyone. The place is flocked by doctors, staff and visitors. He listens to everyone and responds with patience. Tackling situations with a sense of humour is his USP. Decorative words flow easily when he talks.

Patient Interaction

His day at Frontier Lifeline starts with going round the rooms and wards. "Though the treatment is taken care of by the specialist, I make it a point to meet patients and learn about their progress," says Dr Padmanabhan. "An exchange of a few words makes them feel more comfortable." He makes use of these rounds to personally learn the feedback of the patient and attendants, and orders necessary action.

He also randomly checks the facilities of the rooms during his rounds. "If I find a leaking tap in a room, I see to that it gets rectified as soon as possible," he explains and adds, "Some patients seek clarification on the treatment taken, I arrange an appointment with the specialists to clarify their doubts."

Fund Arrangements

When some patients ask for a concession, Dr Padmanabhan takes it upon himself to speak to the management on behalf of genuine cases and arranges for treatment at a subsidised cost. He even writes letters to philanthropic organisations like Ganesh Mandir, New Delhi and Shirdi Sai Baba Foundation, Chennai, or Sun Foundation, Chennai seeking monetary benefits for poor patients. "Our hospital too offers treatment for free and at a subsidy, but when the need is greater I seek the help of these organisations," says he. These organisations offer whole or partial funding for the treatment.

Frontier Lifeline had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu State Illness Society to treat cardiac-related problems in children. The surgery is carried out at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 10,000 for closed surgery, Rs 30,000 for major surgeries and Rs 70,000 for complex ones. Dr Padmanabhan visits these children frequently during their stay. Once the treatment is completed, he personally writes letters to the Chief Minister, Health Minister and Director of Child Health with the details of the child's recovery. "We have treated 10 children so far, since November," he says.

He played a major part in getting Frontier Lifeline empanelled under the Chief Minister's Relief Fund. He is also in the process of obtaining empanelling under the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

Medical Tourism

India has earned a good name in the field of healthcare by offering quality treatment at a low cost. Known worldwide for its excellence in cardiac care, Frontier Lifeline draws a sizable population of patients from foreign countries. "Our major share of foreign patients is from Middle East and African countries," says Dr Padmanabhan. Though medical tourism was already in practice in Frontier Lifeline, Dr Padmanabhan plays a key role in arranging tie-ups with several agencies to increase the patient in-flow.

"I co-ordinate with these agencies and give a clear picture to the patient on the kind of treatment, duration and the overall cost, so that they come prepared," says he. Once the patient and attendant land in Chennai, he arranges to bring them safely to the hospital, organises a guesthouse for attendants and makes sure their visit to India is a comfortable one. In order to make the visit a memorable one, he has positioned a tourism desk in the hospital premises. "We have an tie-up with the Tamil Nadu Tourism Corporation, where a brief trip is arranged for the foreigners, if they wish," he says.

He sees to it that the visitors get their home cuisine. "Our cafeteria chef arranges food exclusively for them," he says. All these steps give a good impression of the country. "I also make sure the details of people from Sri Lanka and Pakistan are reported to the nearby police station," he says. He also interacts with the immigration officers to sort out visa-related disputes such as undergoing treatment with a tourist visa instead of a medical visa.

In unfortunate cases, when the patient passes away, Dr Padmanabhan clears the way to send the body and the attendants to the native country with due respect. He has even arranged funerals according to the patient's religious belief here.

Fellowship Programmes

Doctors from countries like Germany, Australia, Bangladesh and Iraq visit the Hospital to undergo fellowship programmes. As a coordinator of postgraduate courses and training programmes conducted by the hospitals, Dr Padmanabhan virtually turns a guide during their stay here. He receives them, arranges accommodation and takes care of them until they are acclimatised. He also arranges mobile phone connections and banking facility for these people, as it would have required a tedious process otherwise.

Once, a seven-member team from Sri Lanka visited here to learn the functioning of Indian healthcare. Apart from explaining the functioning of Frontier Lifeline, he arranged tours and showed them a Primary Health Centre, Taluk Hospital, District Hospital and General Hospital to illustrate the working of the public healthcare service. He also took them to the Railway Hospital and explained various emergency care and treatments offered there. "I also took them to our unit at Parumala (Kerala) and explained treatment in rural set-ups, alternative medicine like Ayurveda and the concept of telemedicine," he recalls.

Corporate Empanelling

Dr Padmanabhan got several institutions empanelled with the Hospital. These institutions include central health service, ex-servicemen, government, public sector and private institutions. He has also brought insurance companies and third party administrators (TPA) under their ambit. In addition to this, he has also co-ordinated tie-ups with travel agencies to boost medical tourism.

His Personal Diary He was born as the fourth of nine children to Dr KN Swamy and Lakshmi Narayanaswamy on November 1, 1945 at Thiruvananthapuram. He was named after the presiding deity of the famous Sri Anantha Padmanabhaswamy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram. Fond of religion, spirituality and philosophy, he prefers reading smaller books than voluminous ones.. His favourite book is 'Loving God', a book on Sai Baba by Kasthuri. A lover of language and figures of speech, he tends to remember catchy quotes and mentions them in his talks. He finished his schooling at PS Higher Secondary School, Chennai and his PUC (pre-university course) from Vivekananda College, Chennai. He joined BSc Chemistry in Jain College, Chennai and discontinued to join Veterinary Science in Madras Veterinary College. He later obtained his medical degree from Armed Forces Medical College, Pune. He completed DA from Madurai Medical College. His wife Dr Saraswati Padmanabhan also served in Railways and retired as Chief Medical Superintendent. The couple has a son and a daughter, both married. Their son Karthik, with a PhD in Computer Quality Assessment, runs his own firm. Daughter Divya is a computer engineer, based in Texas. Though both the parents work in medical field, his children chose to be engineers. "My daughter wanted to do medicine. Discovering the exorbitant donation we would have had to pay, she changed her mind," he says. He stands by his children's choice of careers. He is happy that his kids are earning more than he had earned throughout his life. The most challenging decision he took in his life was when he rejected an offer to work in London and decided to stay in India. "I could have earned more if I had gone abroad, but I was a family-oriented person and was not interested in leaving behind my family for a career," he explains. Dr Padmanabhan is a vegetarian and has a special liking for fried foods. "I am following a controlled diet now," he says. Pongal and vada are his all-time favourites. During a lecture on dieting, he addressed the gathering in this manner. "Dr KM Cherian spoke just now. He is your role model and I am your 'roll' model." However, he takes care of his fitness too. He walks for an hour daily. "If you can't do dieting, at least don't die eating," is his advice for his patients. He recommends a 'low SMS' in the diet, where SMS stands for sugar, milk products and salt. Dr Padmanabhan played cricket for his school team. He loves watching cricket now. He also likes playing carom and cards during his leisure time. A fan of yesteryear's movies, he likes watching old Tamil movies. He drives a Zen Estilo.

Employee Welfare

Dr Padmanabhan has arranged for medical reimbursement of outpatient treatment undergone by the staff at any hospital. "The in-patient charges are covered by the insurance but OPD treatment is generally paid out of their pocket," he explains. In fact, the chances of spending on outpatient treatment are more.

He encourages the nurses and other medical staff to go on excursion and arranges transportation at the best rates. "I always give suggestions and encourage my staff to observe important days like annual day, nurses' day," he says.

Spreading the Care

"The general tendency of nurses is to interact with the patient only when he is in their department," he says and continues, "I ask them to speak with them even when the patient is not under their care." For instance, he urges a nurse who assisted in an operation to meet the patient in the post-operative ward, introduce herself and enquire about his progress. This way, the patient comes to know all who assisted him in his recovery. The relationship goes beyond the patient-nurse connection. A greeting or thanks the nurse receives in return is the real satisfaction in her career.

He chairs the monthly inter-department review meet that is attended by all the staff. In these meets, he discusses the various complaints and suggestions collected from the patients during their discharge. He seeks explanations and discusses remedial measures.

If Not a Doctor?

He never thought of a second choice in his career. So fascinated was he by the prefix 'Dr', he quickly joined a Veterinary College, instead of waiting for medical admission. "A veterinarian is also referred as doctor," he chuckles. His father, himself a doctor, wanted at least one of his children to take up his profession. "My father suffered a paralysis and that was when I decided to make his dream a reality," he recalls. After completing medicine, he assisted his younger brother and sister to do medicine.

"To study veterinary science is more difficult than medicine. In medicine you learn one anatomy, whereas in veterinary science you learn four anatomies," he explains. He applied for medicine in the Armed Force Medical College, Pune discontinued veterinary course and joined medicine here.

"Doctors command more respect in the society," he explains and continues, "It is always good to have a doctor in the family. You don't have to worry for small ailments." He had also seen how his father was adored by people in his native town, Karungulam, Tirunelveli. Doctors were seen as God's messiahs, especially among the rural people. These had a major influence in Dr Padmanabhan's choice of career.

Life at Railways

'Fantastic' is the word he uses to mention his 37 years of service in Railways. "I was jobless only for three days," he recalls. He applied both in the State Government and Railways simultaneously and was offered the post of Assistant Medical Officer at Perambur Railway Hospital. "The Hospital was served by some of the pioneering cardiologists of India, including Dr KM Cherian," says Dr Padmanabhan.

"I didn't face much difficulty in getting the job," he says. The appointment was later regularised by UPSC and made permanent. He acquired a Diploma in Anaesthesiology while serving in Railways.

Starting as Assistant Medical Officer, his career graph reached Medical Director. He served in several places including Tirunelveli, Trivandrum,Viruddachalam, Tiruchi, and Palakkad. He also served as Chief Medical Director in West Central Railway for a short spell, but being attached to his family chose to return to Chennai as Medical Director.

"If you can't oblige, at least act obligingly," is the philosophy he preaches. According to him, soothing words and patient listening cure most problems. Speaking on the preference for some doctors by the patients, Dr Padmanabhan says, "People call some doctors 'kairasi' doctors, who according to them, are capable of giving effective treatment." In Tamil, a more trusted and efficient doctor is referred as 'kairasi' doctors. He says that the patient draws such a conclusion because he was treated with soothing words in addition to the medicine. "The same medicine given with a smile will be more effective," he says. Needless to say, he follows what he says. Dr Padmanabhan gives true meaning to the word service in this healthcare service industry.

k.deepalakshmi@expressindia.com