Impact of Covid-19 on Indian Economy & Healthcare System
Since World War II, Covid-19 has been proven to be the greatest challenge that the world is facing. There is no country in the world which has not been affected by it. Covid-19 has impacted
Since World War II, Covid-19 has been proven to be the greatest challenge that the world is facing. There is no country in the world which has not been affected by it. Covid-19 has impacted the economy as well as the healthcare sector worldwide. Its effect on the Indian economy and healthcare sector is quite evident.
In order to mitigate the effect of Covid – 19, Indian Government has extended the lock-down to 3rd May, 2020. According to FICCI survey, COVID-19 is having a deep impact on Indian Economy, over the coming month’s jobs are at high risk because firms are looking for some reduction in manpower as they aren’t generating the revenue and are unable to pay the salaries to the staff. Further, it is added that already COVID-19 crisis has caused an unprecedented collapse in economic activities over the last few weeks. As per this survey, in India up to 53% of businesses have specified a certain amount of impact of shutdowns caused due to COVID-19 on operations. The unemployment rate has reached 26% across India, according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. Around 140,000,000 Indian lost employment in the lock-down. Major companies in India such as Larsen and Toubro, Bharat Forge, UltraTech Cement, Grasim Industries, the fashion and retail wing of Aditya Birla Group, Tata Motors and Thermax have temporarily suspended or significantly reduced operations in a number of manufacturing facilities and factories across the country. Hindustan Unilever, ITC and Dabur India have shut manufacturing facilities except for factories producing essentials. The E – Commerce organisations like Amazon, Flipkart, Big Basket & Grofers have also stopped the distribution of non-essential commodities and are focused on selling and distributing essentials only. India Ratings & Research has downgraded the estimate of India’s GDP growth for FY21 to 3.6%. On 12 April 2020, a World Bank report focusing on South Asia said that India’s economy is expected to grow 1.5% to 2.8% for FY21. Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have estimated that India’s GDP for FY21 will be between 0.9% and 1.5%.
The healthcare sector is at the epicenter of the unprecedented global challenge of Covid-19. The private healthcare sector has risen to the occasion and they have offered the government all the support it needs like testing support, providing isolation beds or deploying equipment & staff. The private healthcare sector is facing dual burden due to this situation – on one side they have to invest additional manpower, equipment, consumables and other resources to ensure the complete preparedness for treatment in the hospital and on other hand they are incurring loss due to sharp drop in OP footfalls, elective surgeries and international patients. The medical device industry has also taken a blow. India imports a lot of medical devices from China and due to current crisis, it is difficult to source these devices. There has been a sharp increase in the queries on new health insurance policies by 40%.
Rainbow Initiatives for Covid- 19:
Video Consultation – During the lock-down period, Rainbow has started the online video consultation platform “Hello Doctor”. Rainbow cares for the patients even in this tough time. By this platform, the hospital has provided the video consultation for all the patients, with non emergent situation, who cannot come to hospital. All the consultants are available for the video consultation.
Online ANC & Yoga Sessions – Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Bangalore has conducted around five Ante natal sessions “Bundle of Joy” in which Gynecologist, Neonatologist, Anesthetist, Lactation Consultant and Nutrition Expert prepare the expecting mothers and their families to welcome their newborns. The Gynecologist talks about the antenatal and labour experience. In this session the Lactation Consultant will discuss about the lactation preparation during pregnancy and how to resolve lactation issues after delivery. The pain management during pregnancy is discussed by the anesthetist and Neonatologist focuses on care of the health of the baby.
Facebook Live – Rainbow conducts Facebook live sessions with different Consultants regarding their expertise in their concerned departments. There were few Facebook live sessions on different topics like ‘Safe pregnancy tips during COVID 19’, ‘Prevention & Safety Measures for Kidney Patients during Covid-19’; ‘Caring for Children at Home during Covid-19 Pandemic’ and ‘Importance of Vaccinations at COVID19’.
Online CME – In order to keep the doctors updated about the current scenario, Rainbow has conducted online sessions with doctors from different parts of Bangalore. The topic for CME was “Practicing Pediatric in Pandemic”. Around 80 doctors from all over Bangalore have joined the session.
Distribution of Masks & Sanitizers – Rainbow has donated medical supplies to BBMP office in Bangalore and has also distributed around 50,000 masks to the police personnel who are ensuring strict lock down is followed across the city.
Organisation of Blood Donation Camp – Rainbow Children’s Hospitals, Marathahalli, Bangalore is making every action count during these testing times. The team recently collaborated with the Rotary Club TTK Blood Bank to organize an in-house blood donation drive in the hospital premises to help save more lives. A total of 61 blood donations were enabled through the drive. During Covid-19 pandemic, blood bank across the country are facing shortages of life-saving blood products due to a halt on blood donation activities, All protocols as per the recent Ministry of health & Family Welfare Guidelines like precautions related to social distancing, Infection control and biomedical waste management were strictly followed.
