The Indian healthcare industry, currently worth $65 billion is growing at a CAGR of 20 per cent and is expected to be around $100 billion by 2015. In line with this, the need for trained healthcare workers is also constantly increasing. A study conducted by IMaCS (ICRA Management Consulting Services Ltd) on behalf of the NSDC ( National Skills Development Corporation), has reported 3.1 million as the number of workers in the healthcare services sector in 2008. The projected requirement for the year 2022 is expected to be around 15.8 million people, which includes doctors, nurses, technicians and paramedics.
The laboratory diagnostic space is also growing at a healthy CAGR of 12-15 per cent . There are over 50,000 clinical laboratories in India and the number is increasing every year. However, lack of standardized training curriculum at paramedical schools, absence of any kind of regulation or guidance on opening of laboratories with reference to mandatory qualification of technical staff, type of equipment, standard operating procedures on testing, low levels of awareness, and voluntary accreditation are some of the challenges associated with laboratory diagnostics in India. In line with the pace of opening of labs, paramedical schools of all kinds are mushrooming across the country and more often than not, they tend to follow non-uniform curricula. Consequently, capability building of technical staff is increasingly becoming a challenge and needs to be addressed urgently in order to ensure better patient outcomes.
The Indian government is increasingly realizing this need and is planning to train as many as 4.8 million skilled healthcare-allied workers over the next 10 years in partnership with the healthcare industry. In fact, the National Skill Development Policy 2009 mandates that NSDC would constitute Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) with following functions:
- Setting up LMIS (Labour Market Information System) to assist planning and delivery of training
- Identification of skill development needs and preparing a catalogue of skill types
- Develop a sector skill development plan and maintain skill inventory
- Developing skill competency standards and qualifications
- Standardization of affiliation and accreditation process
- Participation in affiliation, accreditation, standardization
- Plan and execute training of trainers
- Promotion of academies of excellence
BD (Becton Dickinson and Company) has over the years been deeply engaged in improving the skills of healthcare workers in areas of patient safety and infection control, infectious disease diagnosis and monitoring, blood collection and drug delivery among others with the eventual goal of helping strengthen healthcare systems and increase access to healthcare in the developing world in collaboration with public and private organizations. The company is focused on strengthening laboratory systems in resource constrained settings by:
- Providing technical assistance through training and tools.
- Increasing access to critical technology on a sustainable and affordable basis
- Investing in new technologies
- Collaborating with public and private organizations
BD has established Good Laboratory Practice training programmes across the globe. Our GLP training programme has grown over the years to include more than 58 countries with more than 4,000 participants trained in hundreds of workshops. BD in partnership with CDC, PEPFAR and country governments has been engaged in improving the skills of laboratory technicians on blood collection procedures which will help healthcare workers protect themselves against unnecessary needle stick injuries and possible disease exposure while also helping improve the quality of blood samples. Market estimates have revealed that more than 80 per cent of blood samples are collected in India in an unsafe manner using syringes and disposable / reusable vials.
BD In India is committed to improving the preanalytical awareness through introduction of best practices training. In India, BD is partnering with the Association of Clinical Biochemists of India to conduct GLP trainings on phlebotomy - the science of blood collection. Till date, BD has conducted close to 50 GLPs and trained more than 100 lab technicians. The aim of this training is to improve the existing level of pre-analytical awareness in the country.
BD has recently opened a Centre of Excellence in Phlebotomy in partnership with Grant Medical College and Sir JJ Group of Hospitals aimed at improving blood collection skills of resident doctors, nurses and lab technicians. BD is also collaborating with PHD Chambers of Commerce to drive preanalytical awareness through training programs in both the public and private sector. Every year BD - Preanalytical Systems trains more than 12,000 healthcare workers in blood collection techniques.
Apart from this, BD and the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has established “Labs for Life”, a new collaboration to help strengthen healthcare and laboratory systems in the developing world. Labs for Life will include Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Mozambique and also expand outside of Africa to India. This five- year partnership will focus on quality improvement for laboratory services to attain national, regional, or international accreditation; laboratory human Resources training on pathology, forecasting and optimization and curriculum development and training on equipment maintenance.
BD in India is also working in collaboration with National Board of Accreditation for Hospitals (NABH) to drive patient safety and infection control standards across the country through their programme. BD has established Centres of Excellence in flow cytometry with the National Centre of Biological Sciences and University of Calcutta for advancement of flow cytometric techniques. BD has recently established a FACS Academy with Jamia Hamdard University with an aim to train students and researchers from across the country in basic and advanced flow cytometry.
Expanded adoption of best practices is critical towards improving patient outcomes. Overall, there is immense potential in India to enhance the skills of laboratory technicians in line with the growing healthcare needs of the Indian population. Both public and private sector should rise to this need and work together to plug the existing skill gaps through meaningful partnerships.
(The author is business director, BD Diagnostics - Preanalytical Systems)