We'll soon be giving 20,000 Covid jabs a day: MD-CEO of Manipal Health

In a Q&A, Dilip Jose says his chain of 16 hospitals currently is adopting a look-east, look-west policy to enhance its reach

Manipal Hospitals which acquired the Columbia Asia Hospitals last year to become the second country's largest hospital network, after Apollo Hospitals, is looking at both organic and inorganic growth for further expansion. Dilip Jose, Managing Director and CEO at Manipal Health Enterprises, in an interaction with Samreen Ahmad says that the hospital chain is also gearing up for the next phase of Covid vaccination drive and would be able to administer up to 20,000 shots in a day at its current 16 hospitals. They are also ready to set up offsite vaccination centres for large scale corporates. Edited excerpts:

Q. What are the preparations going on at Manipal hospitals network for the coming phase of vaccination drive? How many people can you inoculate in a day?

The ability to conduct a large-scale vaccination depends on supplies, so we are waiting to hear from the government on how supplies will take place. If that is not a constraint, we have vaccination clinics that will administer these vaccines. It’s an intramuscular injection and our nurses are trained to innoculate. We have about 4,500 nurses who are a part of the Manipal Hospitals network. but they can't be used only to vaccinate, as we have in-patient and outpatient loads. We will have to see the demand in the first few days to decide on the allocation of nurses who could move out of their regular duty for the vaccination drive. 

If supplies are available, we can inoculate up to 20,000 people in a day across our network assuming there is a steady stream of people coming in. We will take about three days to roll out the process once the government guidelines are out as our protocols are already in place. 

Are you getting enquiries from large corporates for vaccination?

If there are large-scale requirements in corporates, we can set up offsite vaccination centres for them. We have been reached out by large scale IT enterprises based out of Bengaluru, manufacturing companies, and resident welfare associations enquiring about offsite setups.

Q. What role can technology play in such a large scale drive?

The CoWIN app can handle the large volume of 270 million people who are eligible for vaccination in the next phase by keeping a track on records. People going for international travel may need to produce a Covid vaccine passport which could be issued via smartphones. The need for a booster dose requirement might come after a few months, so technology can help in the backend giving out reminders. 

Q. How has Covid changed the way Manipal hospitals function?

Our hospitals were tech-oriented but a lot of it was in the backend. But now technology has brought an interface to engage with customers on the frontend via teleconsultation. About 10 per cent of our daily outpatient consultations are still happening on the Manipal app which is video integrated even after transportation and travel has opened up. There is also more openness to home care. 

Q. Has the footfall in Manipal Hospitals come back to pre-Covid levels?

While outpatient is currently about 80 per cent of pre-Covid level, for inpatient we are back to pre-Covid. That would bounce back to pre-Covid when long distance travel opens up. 

Q. Has the Columbia Asia acquisitions been complete? What does this acquisition mean for the company?

We expect it to be complete by March as we are waiting for the regulatory approvals. The geographies that we can cater to as an integrated system will be much larger as we are not there in Pune, Kolkata, and in the north we have only two hospitals. The cultural fit is also significant for both these hospital chains. 

Q. Are you looking for any more acquisitions? Will your strategy only be limited to inorganic growth?

We are looking at opportunities in east and west India to enhance our coverage. We are also looking at a greenfield 250-bed hospital in north Bengaluru to come up in the next 2-2.5 years. Expansion depends on the opportunities that come along, and we are open to both  organic and inorganic strategy. While brownfield gives a quicker access to the market, on a greenfield you can build to suit. For organic expansion, would look at people to build the infrastructure and take the place on lease. It will be an asset-light model.