The Apollo Hospitals group entered into an agreement with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to offer skill training courses for healthcare workers at all levels, on the occasion of its 25th anniversary celebrations.

Over 45 courses will be offered, across all verticals, addressing specific skills such as technicians, medical assistantship, health management and dialysis, representatives of Apollo Hospitals told presspersons on Thursday.

The courses will be provided across the online platform, onsite and distance education mode. The first course is expected to start in January and fee details are being worked out.

There is a huge shortfall of trained healthcare professionals in the country, Prathap C.Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals, said. “We need to double our doctors and nurses, and as far as paramedics go, the number has to increase at least 10 times more,” he added. The vast manpower resources that India possessed would have to be converted into valuable healthcare resources and the MoU with IGNOU was a step in that direction.

Apollo, which runs several training institutes for specialists, nurses and paramedics, will be involved in training in a big way in the future, he said, charting out the plans of the group for the next 25 years. Healthcare would become the largest employer, providing jobs not only in the country, but also globally.

V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice-Chancellor, IGNOU, said Apollo was a success story in the corporate healthcare scenario, democratising healthcare by using technology in a big way to take the most advanced techniques to the people.

He said IGNOU was also a success story in the democratisation of education, riding the technology wave to provide access to all. >> More

Source : The Hindu