Hot Seat

Champion All the Way

Dr Ashish Banerji (54), the new Director of Fortis Hospital, Mohali is set to take the flagship hospital of the group to the next level. But can he repeat his own history by making the hospital the highest revenue generator of the group once again, asks Rita Dutta

Like professionals who hail from defense background, Dr Ashish Ranjan Banerji, the new Director of Fortis Hospital, Mohali is a no nonsense professional, who values punctuality, likes to call a spade a spade, is a staunch believer in methodical approach (he even keeps on referring to his diary during his interactions), revels in commanding position and is eager to be the harbinger of change.

These traits are nothing new to me — as I have been keenly following his career graph for the last few years. Yet, what befuddles me when I meet him at Fortis Hospital, Mohali one afternoon is the ease and confidence with which he traipses his conversation from fluent English to sweet Bengali to chaste Punjabi. Yes, you heard it right. This Bengali, who had studied in Rajasthan and Maharashtra, speaks unblemished Punjabi, thanks to his posting in Barnala during his Indian Air Force (IAF) days.

They say his Punjabi was an important reason that he bagged the job at Fortis Hospital, Mohali. Not surprisingly, the promoters were hunting for a Punjabi munda for the Mohali branch, located in Punjabi heartland. After all, this was the debut hospital from the Fortis group and it continues to be MD Shivinder Singh's pet project. Besides his sterling track record, it seems it was Banerji's Punjabi that swayed the job in his favour, say people in the know.

So, can this multi-lingual genius (who also speaks Nepali fluently), take the flagship hospital of the group to the next level? Can he once again make the hospital the highest revenue generator of the group? The revenue last year from this hospital was Rs 14 crore per month, which is second to Rs 22 crore per month from Fortis Escorts. His infectious enthusiasm, unwavering determination, eagerness to take challenges head on, panache to motivate others and an unenviable track record over three decades in healthcare can make it possible.

Bomi Bhote, CEO, Ruby Hall Clinic (RHC), Pune eulogises Banerji, who worked in RHC in two different stints. "Dr Banerji is a man of sincerity and integrity. He is genuinely caring about patients and goes out of his way to attend to their problems. He is an excellent strategist and moves too fast in implementing ideas," gushes Bhote.

Says Sandeep Dogra, Zonal Head, Sales and Marketing, Fortis Healthcare Limited, “When you have a motivated leader like that, others get motivated to deliver their best."

An Exciting Start

Dr Ashish receiving an award on service excellence for Fortis, Mohali from Shivinder Mohan Singh

Right now, Dr Banerji is superbly excited about his new job and the new work ethos. "Here, a chunk of the communication happens through e-mail. In a day, I am responding to 150-200 internal emails, which may be related to purchase decision, financials, etc. We are supposed to reply within a maximum span of four hours. And we should be available to check mails and reply even if we are travelling, which is not a problem— thanks to Blackberry," he reveals in an animated tone.

As a proof, he asks me to take a look at his inbox in his laptop, which is inundated with over 100 emails— all of which have been answered since morning. That emails have started pouring in as early as five in the morning is symptomatic of the sincerity and diligence that is expected of senior management staff in Fortis.

As someone, who strictly adheres to rules, he is savouring the mandatory dictum of going for daily rounds in the hospital along with the nursing superintendent to wards, OPD and ICUs. So, what is the most tangible difference of working in Fortis vis-a-vis hospitals that he had worked before? "There is a lot of transparency and accountability in Fortis. The group has detailed SOPs and thus is very organised in its day-to-day functioning. It's unlike other standalone hospitals where decisions are sometimes taken spontaneously and are not solely guided by SOPs," he segues.

Taking Fortis to Newer Heights

Under his aegis, the hospital has upped its patient centricity quotient by starting 'Caring Hands Programme', whereby patients/ relatives who need any sort of assistance call up the hospital hotline of 18062 and is provided immediate help. With pride sparkling in his eyes, he informs about the successful launch of ‘pink badge brigade’ programme of the hospital, whereby a posse of patient welfare officers (who wear pink badges for easy identification) help patients and relatives.

Spearheading new initiatives has always been his forte. At Fortis Mohali, he has played a key role in commencing the new IVF lab in association with Mumbai-based Dr Hrishikesh Pai of Mumbai in July. He has also facilitated starting a four-bed state-of-the art NICU with qualified neonatologists.

"We are about to start vascular surgery unit, a renal transplant ICU with two beds and hair transplant unit. Air handling with HEPA filters in renal transplant is crucial. Hence, we require a separate renal transplant unit," explains Dr Banerji. The hospital has obtained permission from Director Medical Research & Education, Punjab Government to start the renal transplant unit.

He has also bridged the gulf between medicos and administrative staff and engaged medicos (both full time and empanelled) in enhancing patient care.

So, what made him one of the most sought-after hospital administrators in India? You could say it's his gumption to take bold decisions, dreams that he nurtures, tenacity to pursue his dreams and his sense of integrity which acts as his guiding force.

The Turning Point

In the year 2000, then 45-year-old Dr Banerji decided to change the course of his life. While posted at Air Force, Sulur as a Wing Commander, he took the radical decision of leaving IAF. The decision was motivated by monetary needs and also an yearning to do something new. "Though I am a person of few needs, I wanted to give my child the best education, which was not possible with the kind of remuneration that I was getting in IAF," says he. He also wanted to join the civilian world before he 'became fossilised'.

He was pretty aware of the fact that the transition from defense to civilian style was not going to be smooth-sailing, but he was undeterred. Working in defense hospitals for over 22 years, he had no idea of purchase of equipment or of cost-and-profit (as in air force hospitals purchase of equipment is done at central purchasing site and profit and loss concept is non-existent). Dealing with high attrition rate was another bane of the private healthcare that he did not have to deal with before. However, Dr Banerji was determined to take the road of learning to achieve his new goal— of climbing the pinnacle of success in private healthcare.

The Days at RHC

He began his career in the private sector as a civilian surgeon in Vrundavan Hospital, Goa. In March 2001, he joined Ruby Hall Clinic (RHC) as Deputy Medical Director and Consultant Surgeon. Ushering in changes and streamlining various processes for the 550-bed RHC, Pune's largest hospital, was an uphill task. He also had to be available at any point of the day.

The first change that he brought in RHC was that of preparing computerised discharge summaries for all the discharged patients of the hospital, with different menus for separate disciplines of medicine and surgery. "The summaries were stored in the hospital server and were created at time of admission, being updated continuously till discharge. We were the only hospital in the city of Pune to have this system," he informs.

He also prepared a computerised list of junior doctors, which was continuously updated. "My staff also kept a record of the individual doctor's names, addresses, qualifications and academic interests. I created a set of standing instructions and circulars for junior doctors," he recollects. Dr Banerji still fondly remembers Bhote for the immense faith and confidence that he had reposed in him.

During this tenure, he was also chosen to become an examiner for Maharashtra Nursing Council for two years. He got the opportunity to design and implement a six-day in-house training course for nurses to upgrade their skills in technical aspects of nursing, as well as communication skills and ward management. But roping the already overburdened nurses for training was a challenge. "They were not willing to spare extra time for training after a tiring day at work. So, I came up with the idea of paying them extra to undertake the training," he informs. The idea clicked.

He also spotted other lacuna. Like, when he found out that some consultants were referring patients outside the hospital, he stopped that practice with immediate effect. He was actively involved in getting DNB recognition for Urology and General Surgery at RHC.

The IAF Days

In 1978, he began his career by joining the IAF Commission as Flying Officer in Delhi. In 1979, he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and posted to Command Hospital Air Force, Bangalore. From 1981-1983, he worked as Senior Medical Officer at Air Force Station, Barnala. Seeing as many as 140 patients a day, in a set up with only a lab, a ward and an OT with only one doctor, he learnt about efficiency of services. From 1985-1988, he did his postgraduate work in surgery at Command Hospital, Pune. Thereafter, he worked in various air force hospitals in Kolkata, Shillong, Hindan, Kanpur and Coimbatore. In 1992, he was promoted to become a Wing Commander. His surgical skill was put to test in June, 1987. Somewhere in Arunachal Pradesh, near Indo-China border, he had to conduct nephrectomy with a torch light on an injured jawan, whose kidney was shredded into three pieces. "He also had a lot of blood loss and I had to conduct the operation to save his life," he recalls. Besides wearing the surgical gown mainly for emergency and orthopaedic surgery, he wore the mantle of a teacher at Command Hospital, Kolkata. He also garnered the experience of medical administration at Air Force, Sulur.

More Power, More Responsibilities

Despite all his achievements, when he realised that there was no further opportunity of vertical career growth as the hospital already had a Medical Director, he left RHC in September 2002 to join as the Medical Director of yet to be started 600-bed hospital Bombay Hospital, Indore.

The canvas of work was much larger at this greenfield project. "I was functioning as de facto CEO of the hospital, since no Director was appointed. Since it was a new venture, I also had to deal with many teething problems— all of which enriched my experience," he recollects. It was also here that he jettisoned his surgical practice. "Doing surgeries and handling administrative work came under 'conflict of interest' clause at Bombay Hospital. I also strongly feel that administration of a hospital suffers when a doctor dabbles in both practice and administrative work," he opines.

Initially, operating out of Mumbai, he was responsible for recruiting consultants to selecting state-of-the-art equipment at Bombay Hospital, Indore. He shifted base to Indore only in June 2003, to oversee the last stages of construction, and also to start training nurses, recruiting RMOs, creating protocols etc. The hospital commenced operations on 16 October, 2003 with 150-beds. His success as the administrator lies in the fact that the hospital achieved occupancy of more than 90 in-patients within three months of its commissioning. He was instrumental in getting the hospital empanelled for Ex-servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS scheme). Another feather in his cap was when the hospital was awarded for best patient care among all hospitals in Madhya Pradesh in April 2005.

Back to the Past

After two years with Bombay Hospital, in April 2005, he was called back by RHC to join as the Medical Director. This time also, he made perceptible changes in the entire working atmosphere of the hospital. "The medical documentation, attitude of junior doctors, nursing care, and all allied areas of medical administration showed the effect of tight controls and proper education to all staff. We were always filled to capacity; the admissions in the month of October 2007 were the highest in the hospital's history," he enthuses. He also brought in decentralisation of power by introducing administrative heads for each of the buildings of the hospital. During his tenure, RHC also started 15 medical check-up centres at various call centres in Pune.

The Woodland Story

From streamlining processes in a successful hospital (RHC) to commissioning a new hospital (Bombay Hospital, Indore), what was left for Dr Banerji was turning-around a sick hospital. He got that opportunity in November 2007, when he joined Kolkata-based Woodlands Medical Centre as the CEO & Medical Director. Another emotional reason for joining the hospital was that his grandfather Sir Biren was the MD of the company that built the hospital.

The 50-year-old hospital (which is more like a nursing home) had myriad problems that he had to tackle. The building had problems of leakages and seepages everywhere, with an ancient AC system. The hospital was also besieged with union problems. Consultants admitted patients whom they saw in their clinics and the hospital was hardly generating any cases of its own. During Dr Banerji's tenure, he brought about major repair and renovation, without disturbing the functioning of the hospital. "The trade unions signed the Charter of Demands, with an increment, that was less than 50 per cent of what the previous CEO signed in July 2005. Aggressive marketing resulted in the highest revenue that the hospital ever had in its history and patients were now coming to Woodlands on their own," he states.

While the Woodland experience has been rewarding, he is disheartened by the way many doctors in Bengal function. "You cannot make them follow any SOPs. They think they are beyond every rule," he mourns.

Lots in Store

Dr Banerji is now focused on taking Fortis, Mohali to its next level. In the pipeline are cardiac transplant unit, liver transplant unit and cochlear transplant unit. Dr Banerji is also completing the entire gamut of oncology set-up of the hospital by adding radiation oncology. "We would install a linear accelerator, by dint of the tie-up with International Oncology Services Private Limited," he quips.

With mega medical programmes, a motivated team and a dynamic leader at the helm, the revenue for Fortis, Mohali would only go for an upward swing.

rita.dutta@expressindia.com