My father was recently critically ill. We had to shift him thrice within 48 hours to different hospitals – due to a lack of confirmed availability of ICU beds – a topic for another post. For 48 hours I did not get to sit – because there was no stool or chair at the bedside in any of the hospitals we went to. Apart from the expected exhaustion of taking care of a sick family member – this aspect added to the stress and frustration. Later when he was finally in the ICU, this issue persisted....

Ever since my medical internship – more than 15 years ago – I’ve been obsessed with what is currently called “quality improvement” (for lack of a better term). Making healthcare better by engaging frontline health workers and enabling them to experiment and collaborate to improve care for patients.And, facilitating transformations in the larger system and culture to enable this work. Way back in 2008, as a freshly minted doctor – even before I really knew what “QI” was or how to facilitate...

Reconnecting with what matters Today I went back to visit AIIMS after a gap of almost two years. AIIMS is known as India’s premier hospital, medical college and research institution. Despite its stature, it faces the inherent challenges of being a government hospital in India. I had started supporting AIIMS in 2016, while working as a Senior Improvement Advisor with a USAID funded project. The objective was to build a sustained quality improvement movement in India and in neighbouring...