NEW DELHI : Small- and mid-sized hospitals, which are struggling to survive because of the covid-19 outbreak, have reached out to the Union health ministry, seeking benefits similar to those extended to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The sector, which caters to around 85% of India’s healthcare load, is bleeding with the shift in focus to service only covid-19 cases with a range of other services taking a back seat.
Small hospitals are typically 100-bed setups, while medium ones have between 100 and 300 beds. Large hospitals have more than 300 beds and offer primary, secondary, and tertiary care. “The small- and mid-sized hospitals have suffered major losses and are facing a survival crisis.