Addressing the gap in the availability of Allied Healthcare Professionals in India, Tech Mahindra Foundation and Wipro GE Healthcare have partnered to offer skilling and upskilling courses to students and healthcare technicians. This partnership will upskill existing paramedics and students pursuing Radiology Technician, Operation Theatre Technician, Critical Care Technician and Emergency Care Technician Courses.

The courses designed and developed by Wipro GE Healthcare will be delivered online, followed by Interactive sessions with leading practicing industry experts, along with exposure to immersive techniques and hands-on training on simulators/equipment. Tech Mahindra Foundation (TMF) will join hands in offering the training to beginners as well as working technicians. The aim of the partnership is to provide gainful employment opportunities for the unemployed youth as well as career progression for working paramedics. 

The healthcare system is benefitting immensely by Allied Health Professionals across technical and diagnostics requirements. During any health crisis, like the current pandemic, they are the frontline warriors and help in improving healthcare service delivery. The demand is only increasing as India continues to fight against COVID-19. Despite huge demand for their services, the segment is highly short-staffed as well as inappropriately trained. 

Rakesh Soni, Chief Executive Officer, Tech Mahindra Foundation, said, "At our Tech Mahindra SMART Academies for Healthcare, we believe in laying emphasis on practical learning during the entire course along with the theoretical concepts. We are glad that this partnership will complement the practical learning of our students, alumnus, and also other allied Healthcare Technicians. It will additionally enable them to get exposure to simulator training on surgical equipment, and a high-end immersive experience." 

“We are delighted to partner with Tech Mahindra Foundation to initiate these courses on training students to become skilled allied healthcare professionals,” said Shravan Subramanyam, Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare, South Asia. “COVID-19 has highlighted the gap in the availability of Allied Health Professionals who are critical in testing, diagnosis and timely patient treatment and care. This training will be readying the students for the opportunities that the healthcare sector has for technicians in radiology, operation theatre technology, critical care and emergency care” he added. With an aim to improve access to quality healthcare throughout the country by developing skilled healthcare resources, Wipro GE Healthcare in 2015 established the GE Healthcare Education Institute (GEHCI), a training partner listed under the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). 

The students will not only learn the theoretical aspects of being a healthcare technician but also learn through immense training at hospitals and practical lessons on surgical equipment, anaesthesia, X-Ray, CT and MRI machines, patient preparation and management and more. The Tech Mahindra Foundation-Wipro GE Healthcare partnership hopes to strengthen the healthcare delivery system of the country through focussed efforts on skilling the youth.

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare is the $16.7 billion healthcare business of GE (NYSE: GE). As a leading global medical technology and digital solutions innovator, GE Healthcare enables clinicians to make faster, more informed decisions through intelligent devices, data analytics, applications and services, supported by its Edison intelligence platform. With over 100 years of healthcare industry experience and around 50,000 employees globally, the company operates at the centre of an ecosystem working toward precision health, digitizing healthcare, helping drive productivity and improve outcomes for patients, providers, health systems and researchers around the world. 

In India, GE Healthcare operates in a JV (Wipro GE Healthcare WGE)) with Wipro Limited. WGE is focused on some of the country’s toughest healthcare challenges– lowering maternal and infant deaths, enabling early detection of cancer and addressing heart diseases early. WGE pioneered the innovation of healthcare imaging technologies ‘In India for India and the world’ to enhance access to quality healthcare at affordable costs to more people.

The GE Healthcare Institute, which focuses on skill development and enhancement programs, has trained the workforce from across the healthcare ecosystem, from community health workers to nurses and clinicians. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Insights , or visit our website www.gehealthcare.in/ for more information.

About Tech Mahindra Foundation

Tech Mahindra Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of Tech Mahindra Limited, a Mahindra Group Company. The Foundation set up in 2007, as a Section 25 Company (referred to as a Section 8 Company in the Companies Act, 2013), has been working tirelessly in the areas of education, employability and disability, with a keen focus on corporate volunteering.

Launched in the year 2012, SMART (Skills for Market Training) is Tech Mahindra Foundation’s flagship employability program to empower youth from economically backward urban communities. As a part of the same, the Foundation initiated the SMART Academies for Healthcare which offer specialized, diploma and certificate courses under our directly implemented programs. The Academies are state-of-the-art institutes imparting high-quality training, through a blended learning approach with emphasis on practical and on-the-job training and adequate exposure to community health. Presently, the Foundation runs four Tech Mahindra SMART Academies for Healthcare - in Delhi, Mohali, Mumbai and Pune.

To help India in its fight against COVID, Tech Mahindra Foundation has been supporting the society in Emergency and Rehabilitation. Since March 2020, we have reached out to the most vulnerable population segments with support in the quickest possible time. The Foundation has touched over 25 lakh lives through our COVID Relief initiatives across 17 states in the country.

To know more, please visit https://www.techmahindrafoundation.org/; https://www.smart-academy.in/