Session on ‘Employee Health & Well being : Post Covid, The Road Ahead’ to commemorate Doctors’ Day held on 1 jul’22 at MCCI

“Employee Wellbeing is more than a buzzword on 1 jul’22; with neurological and mental health problems on the rise post-pandemic, organizations wish to know how to equip themselves to better assist their workforce.”  – Mr. Rishabh C. Kothari, President, Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry organised an interactive session on “Employee Health & Wellbeing: The Road Ahead Post Covid” today at the Chamber.

Dr. Raja Dhar, Head of the Department of Pulmonology at CMRI Hospital; Dr. Sanjay Garg, Head of the Department of Psychiatry at Fortis Hospital; and Dr. Saswati Sinha, Senior Critical Care consultant physician at AMRI Hospital, Dhakuria; addressed the session. The interactive session was moderated by Dr. Kamlesh Kothari, Chairman, Council on Healthcare.

Mr. Rishabh Kothari, President, MCCI mentioned the special connection that West Bengal has with Doctors’ Day, since July 1 is Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy’s date of birth and passing. As an entrepreneur and on behalf of the Chamber, Mr. Kothari asked, “In the post Pandemic scenario, should organizations and their Health and Safety teams receive a new set of guidelines pertaining to Covid and Long Covid given the new reality?”

Dr. Kamlesh Kothari in his moderation speech mentioned that in spite of managing the first wave, our familiarity bred contempt and the deadly second wave ensued.

Dr. Sinha said that the unprecedented shock of the full lockdown, the stigma around the disease and the breakdown of the healthcare machinery during the second wave worldwide then gave way to better flexibility and turnaround responses in terms of reallocating resources, even in high dependency units. Covid had taught healthcare workers to be more agile.

Dr. Garg, who was asked about mental health in the workplace, said that one of the silver linings of Covid was the fact that the stigma around mental health completely fell away. People reached out to professionals for assistance. He advised employees and indeed, everyone to open their doors to their “para”, their neighbours, their friends, instead of living in isolation. Physical exercise, taking meals on time, sleeping on time were good habits for both physical health and mental health. He advised parents to let children hear the word “No” as boundaries were healthy. Lastly, he advised everyone to give themselves their “Me time”. When asked by Dr. Kothari about promotion of suicide prevention helpline numbers, he said openly advertising anonymous suicide help lines was much needed as most people who commit suicide reach out for help.

Dr. Raja Dhar spoke about the nature of the virus which mutates to become more infectious even as it loses its severity. Most drugs to treat Covid as well as vaccines, attack the spiked protein of the Corona virus which hooks itself on to our cells to replicate, he said. “It is this spiked protein that mutates; so the drugs for the last wave do not work as well in the latest wave,” he added.

Dr. Dhar reiterated a checklist for all workplaces on behalf of the panel:

• People who are at risk in this wave: The elderly, people with co-morbidities like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart conditions.
• Who should mask up: Those who have elderly parents or people with co-morbidities at home. You may be immune, but your parents might not be.
• Hand Hygiene: For all of us. Hand sanitization or washing reduces many infections.
• Social Distancing: Probably no longer possible in the New Normal.
• Vaccinations: Two doses for everyone; Boosters advised for all and a must if you are at risk; also for those at risk, he recommended the annual Influenza vaccine and with prescription, the Pneumonia vaccine.
• Annual Covid Vaccine: Recommended for all for the next five years

The session ended with a hearty Vote of thanks proposed by Shri Tushar Basu, Chairman, Council on Human Resource Development.

Source : MCCI Media