Management Speaks

Dr. Uma Ram MBBS, DGO, DNB, FRCOG | OBSTETRICIAN AND GYNAECOLOGIST

Home Within a Home

At the helm of Seethapathy Clinic & Hospital’s obstetrics and gynaecology practice is Dr Uma Ram. In fact, the hospital owes its obstetrics and gynaecology practice to Dr Uma, who joined the clinic in 2000 with an intent to grow the scope of services at the hospital. Uma brought to the table not merely an impressive resume but also hands-on experience of working closely at the EV Kalyani Medical Centre, under the watchful eyes of well-known obstetrics and gynaecologist, Dr Gita Arjun.

Hailing from a family of doctors, Dr Uma Ram is synonymous with the hospital, and is among the most sought-after gynaecologists in the country.

In the context of the hospital, Dr Uma is both a doctor, and a leader. Since the department’s inception, she has carefully and consciously grown and nurtured a team of doctors and specialists who continue to echo the very ethos of the founding philosophy. “For an obstetric practice to grow, and for obstetrics to be practised well, we would need a group,” says Dr Uma, “So from the start, I focussed my energies on building a professional group in medicine with an intent to ensure that both the professional goals and the financial needs of the people in the group are met. I think of them as individuals but they function as a group. This is imperative – unless they feel they belong, the concept of a group practice will fail. And

this, I’d like to think has made all the difference.”

In addition to providing care that is evidence-based, ethical, and loaded with comfort and sensitivity, Dr Uma Ram’s focus has also been to stay abreast of latest in the world of medicine and technology in that sphere. Dr Uma travels widely and with her team has presented academic papers across national and international conferences. The hospital is currently involved with a large project on gestational diabetes.

If collaboration is the vein of the hospital, trust and a sense of goodwill are its core. “I think my inspiration and role models have been people like my father, my professors in college, other doctors I have worked with, who have made ethical choices and yet built highly reputed empires that have lead to their growth,” says Dr Uma.

A home-within-a-home, where quality care comes at an affordable price, Seethapathy Clinic & Hospital also prides itself in achieving a significant number of natural deliveries. In addition, the hospital also provide fertility treatments that have no long-term concerns for the mother and child and care providers who respect you and treat you like family.

Welcome home!

Dr. Sandeep Murali

In a changing medical landscape, leading a hospital with a legacy requires great leadership and commitment. Dr Sandeep Murali, part of the management team at Seethapathy Clinic & Hospitals is a leader who makes astute choices in both his professional and personal life; he enjoys a healthy work-life balance, believes in professional camaraderie, maintains great interpersonal relations with his colleagues and looks into the future with an assured glint simply because his leadership is built on a strong foundation of conscious planning and deliberate choices.

Son of eminent surgeon and founder of Seethapathy Clinic & Hospitals, Dr N S Murali, Dr Sandeep Murali’s foray into the world of medicine was through a series of choices that began with him following his passion and love for science leading to both his professional and personal development.

Dr Sandeep Murali feels privileged to have learnt the nuances of surgery from his Father and the best teachers from his masters’ programmes. “I was fortunate to have them as my teachers when I just started my career,” he says, “I believe firmly that being trained in the traditional practices of surgery have helped me a great deal in handling several complex surgeries that require a combination of traditional surgical methods and non-invasive methods like laparoscopy.”

His study and training in the UK, at the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, in a sense was instrumental in broadening his professional horizons whilst also giving him a new perspective into providing wholistic care and understanding personal interactions with patients, which is key to the philosophy of the Seethapathy Hospitals. “Modern-day patients have access to a lot of information sources, not all of them reliable and often conflicting. They are therefore often anxious about their condition or worry if they will have the correct treatment or have a severe complication.

“It therefore becomes imperative for the doctor to reassure them, gain their trust through patient counselling and communication. Opening a gateway of communication between healthcare professionals and patients, is quintessential in providing good care and establishing an atmosphere of trust” says Dr Sandeep Murali. “It’s a skill

that we doctors are not often trained on and something that's absolutely necessary in the current era”.

While Dr Sandeep is all for progress and adopting newer and advanced methods and techniques, he feels that it’s always important to see the broader picture as a doctor, treat the patient as a whole and not become too myopic; a common occurrence with extremely streamlined specializations.

Inspired and ingrained in the school of thought adapted by his father, Dr Sandeep believes in putting the patient first and the disease pathology in the context of his overall health and socio-economic conditions. “Establishing a personal contact with a humane touch is what makes Seethapathy Clinic and Hospitals remarkably different and endearing as a medical care provider breaking the taboo of hospitals being cold, impersonal and merely a business” says Dr Sandeep Murali.

“The things I learnt from working with my father, which is the ethos we try to adhere to at Seethapathy Clinic & Hospital, is that one must maintain a high ethical and moral code and stick to it. Try to provide cost effective care and never advocate an unnecessary investigation or treatment. We work in an era where both clinical outcome and the patient experience are important and we need to pay due importance to both”, says Dr Sandeep.

Juggling the dual roles of a surgeon handling complex health issues and managing the hospital with its administrative issues is a challenge., Dr Sandeep says, “Apart from keeping ourselves abreast with technology and recent advances in quality of care, we believe in firstly ensuring doctors and the staff at the hospital are motivated by creating and maintaining a great working environment.” As an administrative leader, he strives to provide a work atmosphere that is informal and friendly with everyone being a part of the same family where their roles and contributions are respected, appreciated and a togetherness celebrated.

Happy healthcare providers, happy patients. Welcome to happy health!

Gayathri Sandeep

The CEO of Seethapathy Clinic & Hospitals, Gayathri Sandeep, is, needless to say, a very busy woman. At the helm of two units with 30 beds each, Gayathri’s role involves management of the hospital, its staff, and its patients, and in a manner that is reflective of the very ethos of the hospital. “Empathy and comfort of the patient are our top most priorities, Gayathri says, sitting in her room at Seethapathy Clinic & Hospitals, “In fact, I keep telling my staff that one unhappy patient is equivalent to the loss of a hundred patients.”

It has perhaps got to do with the fact that Gayathri was mentored into this role by none other than Dr N S Murali, an acclaimed general surgeon and the founder of the hospital. Fresh as an MBA graduate from the Symbiosis Institute of Management, Gayathri forayed into the management of the hospital in 2001, following her marriage with Dr Sandeep Murali. “At that time, the hospital had only ten beds,” Gayathri recounts, “It was a small set-up and almost everything was done by Dr Murali himself. I did not even have a table or a chair to sit on; I’d just sit on a small stool next to him and allow him to take me through the workings of hospital administration and management.”

From accompanying him on rounds, where he’d enquire on their health and well-being, Gayathri began assuming charge and getting a grip over hospital management. “It took me some time getting used to how the hospital continues to have a non-hierarchical approach when it

comes to care for its patients. Everyone was well-looked after and no distinction was made, irrespective of who it was, when it came to matters of health.”

That quality is a continuity and the very premise of the hospital. In 2003, following the first-ever re-modelling of the hospital, without tampering with its look and feel, a few additional rooms were added. Since then, the hospital has grown in size, and stature. From merely 60 deliveries a month back in 2003, each unit today delivers nearly 150 babies every month.

In addition to playing a key role in getting the hospital an NABH accreditation, Gayathri also recognizes the importance of technology in medical care. “Our medical records management is completely digital and in our archives, we can trace records that date back a thirty years.” Yet another focus area is to reduce patients’ waiting time and Gayathri and her team are working with an SMS technology to keep patients informed and reinforce the value of time.

Gayathri is also a very committed leader who believes in spending quality time with her team; understanding their concerns and challenges and keeping them motivated to carry forward the legacy. “Most importantly, we are looking at growth and for that, we are busy building a team that will understand the value of empathy and remain rooted in practices that are as sound in care as they are in comfort.”