Health Sciences Campus, Kochi

This is the first time that any organization has bagged two FICCI Healthcare Excellence Awards in the same year. The Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Amrita Hospital) has aced the FICCI Healthcare Excellence Awards 2016 by emerging the winner in two categories of ‘Patient Safety’ and ‘Innovation in Medical Technology.’ The two awards were received on behalf of Amrita Hospital by Dr. Sanjeev K. Singh, Medical Superintendent, who is known for his work on patient safety and antibiotic stewardship, and Dr. Mahesh Kappanayil, Department of Paediatric Cardiology, who has developed a 3D printing model in congenital heart surgery. This is the first time that any organization has bagged two FICCI Healthcare Excellence Awards in the same year. “We are privileged to receive two Healthcare Excellence Awards from FICCI for our sustained efforts in patient safety and medical innovation. We have strengthened patient safety through an effective Antibiotic Stewardship Program that was designed to adopt and adapt rational antibiotic prescription practices across all our clinical departments. Infection prevention was planned simultaneously to reduce hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). We have also been innovative in the application of new technology for providing quality patient care. We have developed a ‘Center for Innovation and Technology Development’ for 3D-printing and virtual 3D image reconstruction in paediatric heart disease for enabling safer congenital heart surgery. The two awards from FICCI reflect these achievements,” said Dr. Prem Kumar Nair, Medical Director, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences. “It is rare for a university teaching hospital to get an award for patient safety, and that too in competition with top corporate hospitals. Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are a serious cause of concern. Antimicrobial resistance is on the rise and there is a danger of antibiotics losing their effectiveness due to unwarranted use. Good antibiotics practices at Amrita hospital have led to substantial improvement in efficacy of antibiotics, reduction in resistance, reduced morbidity and mortality, and significant cost benefits to the patients. Infection prevention and control practices and strict adherence complement antibiotic stewardship, leading to enhanced patient safety,” added Dr. Sanjeev Singh. Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences has played a significant role in drafting antibiotic policy for Kerala, which is now the first Indian state to formulate and adopt such a policy for day to day clinical practices. Dr. Mahesh Kappanayil and the paediatric cardiac unit of Amrita Hospital have done pioneering work in developing 3D printing applications in paediatric cardiac surgery, aiming at safe execution of complex heart operations. 3D printed heart models, identical in size and structure to the patients' hearts and created using patients' own cardiac MRI and CT scans, allow the surgical team to understand their complex heart defects and precisely plan cardiac surgeries. Amrita hospital now seeks to apply 3D printing across a range of healthcare applications, allowing safer surgeries, customized patient-specific treatment, and scientific teaching and research.