u003cpu003eu003cstrongu003eThe new Chief Operating Officer of Fortis Clinique Darné has held posts of responsibility in the healthcare sector in her home country, India, as well as at international level. One of her priorities is to promote preventive health among the Mauritian population.u003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eThe new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Fortis Clinique Darné (FCD), Unnati Negi, is a healthcare professional with over 20 years of work experience in her home country, India as well as at international level. Before coming to Mauritius, she was Head-Operations (Fortis Memorial Research Institute u0026ndash; FMRI u0026ndash; Allied Hospitals) at the FMRI, in India. In the course of her career, she has dealt with business development, marke-=ting and project management, namely, for the National Health Services (NHS) and the General Dental Council of the United Kingdom. However, before holding such posts of responsibility, Unnat iNegi first chose to study Hindi literature at Presidency College, Calcutta and even in that field, was a State topper, which enabled her to obtain a scholarship from the Indianu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eMinistry of Human Resources. And later on, as a professional, she followed several courses including one on Brand Management and Marketing from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Joka.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eLooking back, Unnati Negi recalls her first work experience as a management trainee at Escorts Finance, a non-financial Indian-based banking company. She then got a sales job at Tata Motors, a leading manufacturer of the Indian automotive industry. There, she says, she sold trucks and Tata Sumo cars, adding that u0026ldquo;u003cemu003ethis was one of the most exhilarating jobs till date and the training I got on the streets canu0026rsquo;t be matched in any classroom of the world.u003c/emu003eu0026rdquo;u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eAfter her experience at Tata Motors, Unnati Negi was employed by the British High Commission and while she was there, a position was advertised to work as Country Lead for the National Health Services (NHS), UK. u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eI was selected and that is how I joined healthcare.u0026rdquo; From then on, she occupied significant positions in the NHS. u0026ldquo;I represented the NHS in India on important issues relating to import/export of medical equipments, medical tourism as well as sensitive ones such as brain drainu003c/emu003e.u0026rdquo; As a result of her work on these assignments, Unnati Negi was chosen to work for the General Dental Council, in London. She remained in office there for nearly four years before returning to India.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eIn her homeland, Unnati Negi became a core member of the team which started Medanta hospital with DrNaresh Trehan. u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eIt was my first experience of actual hospital and since then, I have not looked back.u0026rdquo;u003c/emu003e Before joining the Fortis Group, she also launched a few cancer centres for Max Healthcare Group. She has been with Fortis Group since the last three years, before being deputed to work at Fortis Clinique Darné, in Mauritius. u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eI was heading three hospitals for Fortis Group in Delhi and the National Capital Region u0026ndash; NCR u0026ndash; before taking over operations for Clinique Darné.u0026rdquo;u003c/emu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eThe new COO of Fortis Clinique Darné explains that her responsibilities include patient care and hospital operations. u0026ldquo;I am directly responsible for making a patientu0026rsquo;s life as comfortable as possible. I am also accountable for transparency, medical ethics and seamless processes. It is my job to ensure that patient and clinician trust is maintained at the highest level.u0026rdquo; And what about her vision for the Mauritian hospital? Her priorities, she asserts, will be u0026ldquo;u003cemu003ethe availability of tertiary care across all specialties and patient satisfaction. I would ideally like all Darné patients to feel that they were really cared for when they were sick.u0026rdquo;u003c/emu003e She also adds that the future is more towards preventive health which will need a change in the local mindset. u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eWhen we go through preventive health checks, we detect problems earlier on, hence reducing our sufferings and risks of a financial drainu0026rdquo;, the COO underlines before adding that the challenge is u0026ldquo;one has to face a hospital without being illu003c/emu003eu0026rdquo;.u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eIn a wider perspective, according to Unnati Negi, Fortis Clinique Darné can contribute a lot to the Indian Ocean and African region. Mentioning that CIEL Healthcare u0026ndash; one of the majority shareholders, with Fortis Healthcare, of FCD u0026ndash; has already set up a hospital in Kampala, Uganda,u0026nbsp;the COO emphasizes: u0026ldquo;We are constantly upgrading the facilities and talents at FCD to manage the patients who have had to go out of their country to access quality medical care. It will be our endeavor to provide the best possible care to the region so people can be treated within the comfort of their homes.u0026rdquo; u003cemu003eIn that respect, Unnati Negi states: u0026ldquo;I see no reason why Fortis Clinique Darné cannot expand its operations to the Indian Ocean as well as Africau003c/emu003e.u0026rdquo;u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eRegarding the medical sector in Mauritius, the COO thinks that the island has a good public health system which is free and u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eremarkableu003c/emu003eu0026rdquo;. As for private healthcare, it has u0026ldquo;u003cemu003efairly evolvedu003c/emu003eu0026rdquo;, according to her. Unnati Negi firmly believes that the u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eavailability of international technology, protocols, more advanced treatment methods as well as expertise locallyu0026rdquo; is essential. This is why Fortis Clinique Darné u0026ldquo;has a great talent pool and we continue to bring in specialists to Mauritius so we can learn, train and treat with them.u0026rdquo;u003c/emu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eHowever, a major issue, in Mauritius, she repeats, is the standpoint of the population at large: u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eI personally feel that Mauritians are so easy going and happy-go-lucky people that if I wanted to start a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) campaign in public areas which can lead to saving a lot of lives, it may not be that well received. I have tried to approach cinemas and mall owners to allow us to talk about emergency medicine in their popular zones but I have not had much success. I would like people and institutions to come forward and partner with us on things like these.u003c/emu003eu0026rdquo;u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eUnnati Negi perceives Mauritius as an emerging market in terms of availability of infrastructure, equipment and specialized clinicians. u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eMauritius can easily become one of the worldu0026rsquo;s top destinations for medical tourism if we make the right moves at the right time. It is only imminent given its location, its excellent ties with India, France and the whole region. Local people offer a great language advantage which cannot be found in many countries. All these things should be considered when you are trying to work around patient centricity.u003c/emu003eu0026rdquo;u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eBut who is Unnati Negi away from Fortis Clinique Darné? Mother of a 14-year-old girl called Aakarshi which in Hindi means u0026ldquo;attractiveu0026rdquo;, she recounts that she got married when she was 19 and her husband Rajdeep was 21. u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eWe were very independent people, even at that age, and decided to give life a go! I can say that our life has been a roller coaster ride with all its thrills, adventure and risks but we have gone through it together and the gratifying journey continues.u0026rdquo;u003c/emu003eu003c/pu003eu003cpu003eEven if she has travelled across the world and has had the opportunity to meet a lot of people, Unnati Negi remains a private person. u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eGiven a choice, I would read a book and write poetry overlooking the mountains for the rest of my lifeu003c/emu003eu0026rdquo;, she confides. She also loves nature and backpacking. u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eI have explored many countries such as the United States, Spain, the United Kingdom all alone and have had some of the remarkable adventures including living in a youth hostel, a few years ago, an enlightening experience. During these travel breaks, I have met some fantabulous people and done some of the craziest things in life!u003c/emu003eu0026rdquo; Finally, she admits: u0026ldquo;u003cemu003eI hate walking the beaten tracks, which is why I am always experimenting with life.u003c/emu003eu0026rdquo;u003c/pu003eu003cpu003eu0026nbsp;u003c/pu003e}]
Unnati Negi : Walking off the beaten path
