Health initiative Paras Sarthi to collaborate with corporates to provide care for poor

CSR funding-focused aggregator model to connect with corporates and individuals who want to support others and those who can’t afford healthcare

In a bid to bridge the healthcare gap for the destitute and medical services, hospital chain Paras Healthcare has  launched Paras Sarthi, a unique healthcare delivery platform based on a CSR funding-focused aggregator model to provide quality medical care services to the needy and underprivileged.

The programme offers guidance, participation programmes and impact report to the corporates to highlight their contribution towards the CSR Legislation.

The announcement was made by Dr Dharminder Nagar, Managing Director, Paras Healthcare, on the occasion of the 2018 edition of CSR Health Impact Awards, in the presence of Chief Guest Vijay Goel, Union Minister of state for Parliamentary Affairs.

Highlighting the need for healthcare focused CSR initiative, Dr Nagar said, “The healthcare scene is challenging for the poor, with 70 per cent of tertiary care hospitals located in urban regions and catering to 30 per cent of urban population. Around 75 per cent dispensaries, 60 per cent hospitals, and 80 per cent doctors are located in urban areas. However, we also see hope as increasingly we find individuals and organisations coming forward with innovative and impactful CSR-based initiatives directed towards health.”

Introducing Paras Sarthi, Dr Nagar said, “Backed by our partners for health, Paras Sarthi, a not-for-profit initiative, will metamorphose ongoing efforts of Paras Healthcare into a high-impact collaborative movement to deliver advanced healthcare interventions to the most underserved sections of the society. All overhead costs will be removed for the services given under this initiative.”

As the pilot project, the platform will be tested in all cities and regions in reach of Paras Healthcare. The hospital chain is spread across five regions in Delhi NCR, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The underprivileged sections of the society will benefit from the host of services cancer, gynecology, pediatric surgery, cardiology, and neurosurgery.

Companies have reportedly spent a whopping INR 2240 crore in healthcare in the FY 2016-17 as per the national CII Annual CSR Tracker 2017 report. Crowd funding for a cause’ is also growing fast in India with around 300 crore raised in the last FY with substantial portion for medical procedures.