If you’ve ever been treated in a hospital, you know just how hectic a heathcare professional’s job can be, and they obviously can’t give as much attention to each patient they see. Filling this void in the medical-care field is SuVitas, a Hyderabad-based post-procedure rehabilitation centre that focuses on giving patients the care they need once they’re out of immediate danger.
“Hospitals really do save lives, but then they have to move on to the next person,” says co-founder Bipin Pendyala, explaining the concept, “Their whole system is geared up to saving lives, giving that critical service in time. But when you go back home, you’re not always ready to get back to normalcy. The whole point of (getting better) is not just saying ‘I’m okay’ but ‘I can live again’.”
Specialising in cardiac, orthopaedics, neurological and oncology, SuVita — meaning ‘good life’ — was conceptualised by cardiologist Dr Ramesh Babu and venture fund investors Sateesh Andra and Bipin, to fill the gap of post-operative care in India by being the first in the country to exclusively do so. “In the US for every 10 healthcare beds you have 10 transitional care beds, for 10 acute care beds you have 8 transitional care beds,” says Dr Ramesh, “Hospitals there are able to do what they’re supposed to do — take care of the sick patients.”
“For around 30 to 40 per cent of surgeries that happen in India, the patients travel more than 100 kilometres just for that,” adds Sateesh, “So they don’t want to go back immediately. They would rather stay, recuperate fully and then go back. The number of medical tourists coming to India are also increasing.”
Sruti K.V., another co-founder and an ISB alumni, says that their focus is also getting their “residents” to feel as comfortable as possible, with common living areas, a recreation room, wooden panelled beds and even a separate home theatre room. Bipin adds, “Here, you wake up, you know you have some nice food, then some physiotherapy sessions, then when you come back someone’s playing music, there’s a game hour... it’s a home like environment and you’re at peace.”
Explaining the recovery process, Medical Director Dr Vijay Janagama says that it depends on the wholesome well-being of the patient. “For any one undergoing a major medical procedure, the primary goal is to recovery properly,” he says, “That’s exactly what we enable. We make personalised care plans as per the requirements, and we set short and long term goals that are mutually agreeable.”
While the concept is still new to the Indian healthcare market, Bipin is confident that there is a large enough market for a centre like SuVitas to thrive. “It’s a combination of the need in the country, as well as the proven business model elsewhere,” he says, “In the next two to three years, we will look at expanding to Bengaluru and other cities, and we’re aiming to have at least 2,000 beds across the country.”
