Bangalore's Newest USP: Healthcare

The burgeoning population, deepening pockets of middle class and enhanced awareness about health have fuelled a spate of new hospitals in Bangalore. Existing healthcare facilities are also slated for major expansion, reports Rita Dutta

Rejoice Mumbai and Delhi! Bangalore is your new kin, who has now grabbed the headlines not because of epithets like 'the silicon valley of India' or 'pensioner's paradise', but as a centre of excellence in medical care and an emerging healthcare hub.

The city is in the limelight for spawning a spate of new-age hospitals which appeal with their aesthetic architecture, swanky interiors and warm and hospitable staff. These hospitals modelled on international standards are equipped with avant-garde technology, provide world class care and boast of supreme clinical acumen.

Healthcare Metamorphosis

The prolific growth is the result of metamorphosis of the city's healthcare landscape. Says Dr Narendranath V, Joint Medical Director, MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, "The late 70s to early 80s was an era of nursing homes functioning like small-sized hospitals. Then in the early 90s, groups like Wockhardt Hospitals and Manipal Health Systems (MHS) ventured into healthcare, re-defining the paradigm of healthcare. They introduced the concept of world class hospitals boasting of modern architecture, high-tech equipment and most importantly emphasising quality."

This for the first time stemmed the tide of Bangaloreans who used to flock to Chennai, Vellore, Mumbai and even to foreign shores seeking medical treatment. According to Dr P Satyashankar, Advisor, Health Associates, "Even a decade ago, hospitals doing CABG, kidney transplant and joint replacements were few and far between in Bangalore. Public confidence regarding success rate and quality was low and treatments like marrow transplant and technology like Linear Accelerator and MRI facility were not available in the city."

When the seeds sown by Wockhardt and MHS started bearing fruit, other groups were emboldened. The mid 90s saw Mallya Hospital and HOSMAT Hospital taking small steps. However, it is only now that the city is witnessing a major boom, thanks to its burgeoning population, the global positioning of Bangalore, improved awareness about health and increasing spending capacity.

“From six million in the 90s, the population of Bangalore has exploded to 10 million now,” says Dr Narendranath. This is primarily because of the IT, BPO boom which the city witnessed, persuading the wizards to move to Bangalore lock, stock and barrel. Besides a burgeoning population, the demand for better healthcare is also due to the change in Bangalore society. According to Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals Group, "The city has become more vibrant and cosmopolitan and people's exposure to the world because of work has also led to enhanced expectation from healthcare."

USP Of Bangalore

What is unique about Bangalore's healthcare boom is that the growth has been more planned than sporadic. While some cities have tapped the potential of healthcare market and have come up with plush hospitals, they faced hurdles while recruiting. Senior doctors and executives in some cities were found to be reluctant to move from their cocoon of comfort. An array of projects in some cities has been delayed as manpower is not in place. That is not the case with Bangalore.

Its salubrious weather and cosmopolitan spirit along with its amicable and warm people iron out such hurdles. "People coming from outside Bangalore do not face any language problem as the people here are well-versed with English. The wives of doctors are willing to move to Bangalore, egging their husbands to shift base," quips Chairman, Columbia Asia Hospital, Dr Nandakumar Jairam, who has worked in Bangalore for the last 35 years.

The other advantage is the system of full-time consultation as against multi-hospital visits, which is characteristic of the south. That ensures that hospitals can bank on their doctors. Seeing the same doctor in every visit also makes the patient comfortable.

Besides, affordable infrastructure and low manpower cost have also encouraged investors to pump in money in hospital projects in the garden city. But why is Bangalore so investor-friendly, even as the state government is not giving any incentives like tax benefits or lands on discounted rates? The only incentive so far has been from Karnataka's Department of Tourism which in a bid to promote medical tourism is organising international conferences and tourism fairs.

According Hari Narayan Sharma, Vice President, MHS, "The potential in this city is encouraging investment." While Bangalore has over 13,000 hospital beds, the demand is for at least 18,000 to 20,000 beds, say analysts. Investment is coming as Joint Ventures between developers and professional groups or by corporate players. The trend of doctors pumping in moolah is fading away, as according to experts, medicos lack the skill to sustain the growth of an institute. "Doctors are consumption-oriented and hence want to milk the most of whatever investment they make. They don't want to invest in infrastructure consistently and this hampers the growth of the facility," explains MHS's Sharma.

The New Projects

One World Hospital And Healing Centre Trust

Bed Strength: 200 beds

One World Hospital, to be built by the Bangalore-based One World Hospital and Healing Centre Trust, is all set to alter the concept of the traditional Indian hospital. Coming up within the premises of St John's Hospital, One World Hospital is a 200-bed corporate hospital, established through collaboration between St John's and One World.

While most groups are building new hospitals trying to tap the potential market, for the missionary not-for-profit St John's Hospital, building a corporate hospital was born out of the need to survive intense competition. The 1200-bed St John's Hospital, built in 1975 in a sprawling campus of 130 acres, is held in esteem for its hospital and medical college. But of late, the hospital has been plagued by high attrition in medicos, who are lured by private healthcare. Says Dr Thomas Kalam, Director, St John's Medical College Hospital, "Seventy per cent of our beds are either subsidised or free. But as we found it difficult to survive with our best doctors leaving for corporate hospitals, our strategy was to build our own corporate hospital." The other major factor that necessitated the new corporate hospital is the lack of financial muscle to buy high-end equipment for doctors.

This engendered a need for a high-tech corporate hospital. According to the MoU inked on February 2005, while the five-acre land where the new hospital stands belongs to St John's, One World will bear the cost of the project, which is estimated to be Rs 108 crore (equipment plus infrastructure). The deal benefits both. While One World gets to use St John's land, medicos of St John's benefit by using latest equipment at One World.


"We will treat every patient with dignity and compassion, which are lacking in most Indian hospitals"
- Maureen Berlin
Founder & CEO
One World Hospital

According to Maureen Berlin, Founder and CEO, One World, a Canadian who came to India in 1996 and worked with the Manipal Heart Foundation in Bangalore, "The multi-speciality hospital will focus on cardiac, ortho, neuro and general surgery. The hospital will focus on patient care rather than profit. We will treat every patient with dignity and compassion, which are lacking in most Indian hospitals."

Besides delivery of care, the hospital would set new standards for architecture. "Rather than small windows, characteristic of Indian hospitals, the hospital will have large windows opening up to nature, air, light and sky." Five acres of land have been pledged for the hospital building complete with swimming pool, garden, hydrotherapy and landscape architecture. The unique architecture is the brainchild of George Verghese of Bangalore-based RC Architects. "If the surroundings enhance our mindset, increasing relaxation and reducing stress, then our healing process will benefit. This thinking rests firmly on twin principles of intuition and experience-like the fingers and the palm. While the palm symbolises consultations and diagnostics, fingers mean healing/wards," explains Verghese, who believes that One World is the first design in healthcare with a paradigm shift.

The building form was consciously made low-rise so as not to intimidate the visitors at any point. "Form still follows function, but we redefined the function, built to create a more holistic "wellness". The state of the art technology integrates the building to make it efficient in terms of flow, circulation, privacy, time and distance between different departments. The style of the building is Indian contemporary. In other words, a global building with Indian principals of space planning," he adds.

While the foundation stone will be laid in September this year, the project will be commissioned 14 months later. The hospital plans to recruit 583 staff members and around 30 full-time doctors. The hospital will have 200 car parking slots.

And why did Maureen choose Bangalore and not any other city? "That is because I know people in Bangalore," comes her frank reply. The group plans to build four more hospitals in Bangalore, which will be replicas of the first one.

Wockhardt Super Speciality Hospital, Bannerghatta Road

Bed Strength: 400


Wockhardt Hospital, Bannerghatta
The much-awaited 400-bed Wockhardt Hospitals, Bannerghatta had recently opened its doors. Though the group has a cardiac hospital at Cunningham Road which has also been expanded, all eyes are on the Bannerghatta Hospital which is currently the largest hospital of the Wockhardt Hospitals Group.

Situated near the Indian Institute of Management, Bannerghatta Road, the seven-storey hospital has a built-up area of 2,75,000 square feet sprawling over four acres. The first phase was inaugurated recently with 250 beds, of which 100 are for intensive care. In the second phase, 250 beds will be added.

The ground level has casualty, radiology, dialysis, OPDs, health check-ups and pharmacy. The second floor is for women and children, cath lab and OPD, CCU, MICU and CICU, the third for OT complex and post-op care, the fourth for service areas like cafeteria and pantry, while the fifth and sixth floors house various wards. The various categories of rooms are multi bed, twin-sharing, single, deluxe and suites. The architect for this swanky hospital is RSP Architects, Bangalore. Keeping in mind the burgeoning population of Bangalore, the hospital is the first in the city to have a multi level car park for 300 cars.

This new generation super speciality hospital will focus on cardiology/ cardiovascular surgery, neurology/ neurosurgery, orthopaedics, Women's Health and Minimal Access Surgery. Some of the leading consultants in these specialities have joined this hospital on a full-time basis to make this a centre of excellence in these specialities.

The hospital is equipped with all the new generation technologies, It has 64 slice CT, 1.5 tesla MR, Philips cath labs, advanced patient monitoring systems, neuro and ortho navigation systems, advanced, hi end 3D enabled echocardiography, and a Rehab centre. The Rs-160-crore project has been designed in association with Harvard Medical International keeping the protocols of JCI standards. Dr Lloyd Nazareth, Associate Vice President, who led the Wockhardt Hospitals, Mumbai team to get JCI is already working with a team towards getting JCI accreditation.

"With the new facility we make our first mark in women's health"
- Vishal Bali
CEO
Wockhardt Hospitals

According to Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals, "While we have strengthened our cardiac position in the city, with the new facility we have created an infrastructure and clinical team in our focussed specialities who are not just leaders but have defined patient care in these specialities in India. Our Mumbai hospital had already expanded our foray into other specialities. However, we make our first mark in Women's health through this facility"

"With this hospital, Wockhardt Hospitals also become the leading provider of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery in the country and has started a dedicated department of paediatric cardiology/cardiac surgery with a focussed team of cardiologists and cardiac surgeons. We have recently been joined by some renowned cardiologists and cardio-thoracic surgeons from Manipal Hospital, Bangalore and now we have a full- time cardiac team of 20 cardiologists and eight cardiac surgeons," says Bali. The hospital is looking at 4,000 heart surgeries by the next year-end. The hospital is already attracting International patients.

M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital

Bed Strength: To add 300-beds more in a new hospital


"From six million in the 90s, the population of Bangalore has exploded to 10 million now"
- Dr Narendranath V
Joint Medical Director
MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital

This 300-bed tertiary care hospital located in northern Bangalore is building another 300-bed tertiary care hospital in its sprawling 100-acre campus. While the existing hospital is in the central wing, the new one will be added in the western wing of the campus, at a distance of around 80 metres.

The existing hospital, the dream of the late founder Chairman MS Ramaiah, was commissioned in 1986. The new hospital would have a built-up area of 2.5 lakh square feet and the cost of the project is Rs 40- 45 crore (exclusive of the land cost). While one-third of the funds will be a loan from banks, the rest is internally generated. The new facility would have an advanced oncology centre with linear accelerator and IGRT.

According to Dr Narendranath V, Joint Medical Director, MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital, "The need for the new building is not because the city has witnessed an IT explosion. This area is not an IT hub. We need another 300 beds because this area does not have adequate medical facilities." Mallya Hospital is the nearest one, located 10 kilometres away. Along with the new hospital, a multi-storey car parking area is being built to provide space for 300 cars. "While the turnover from the current hospital is around Rs 50-60 crore, from the new one, we are looking at Rs 150 crore," Dr Narendranath adds. The hospital will recruit 300 more staff and around 50 full-time doctors. The management is looking at 600 patients in OPD and 70 IP in the initial stages.


"Now, people will know this city for quality and affordable healthcare and for medical tourism"
- Dr Naresh Shetty
Medical Director
M S Ramaiah Memorial Hospital

What is the USP of this hospital? "Prevention is our mantra. Hence when it comes to working on a health disorder, we emphatically focus on attacking the problem comprehensively. We ensure that nothing, not even a minor ailment prevents you from enjoying a happy, ebullient and carefree life. Our promise is complete and absolute healthcare," says Dr Narendranath. The hospital follows a 360-degree modus operandi, identifying, tackling and minimising all the associated risk factors for a malaise.

According to Dr Naresh Shetty, Medical Director, "People have known Bangalore as the Silicon Valley and Pensioners' Paradise. Now, they will know this city for quality and affordable healthcare and for medical tourism."

Mallya Hospital

Bed Strength: To add 200 beds in a new building

"The two hospitals could then be joined by a ramp from the first floor, much like Mumbai-based PD Hinduja Hospital"
- Commodore Indru Wadhwani
President
Mallya Hospital

The 215-bed multi-speciality Mallya Hospital, located at Vittal Mallya Road, is planning to come up with another 200-bed hospital in its backyard. According to Commodore Indru Wadhwani, President, Mallya Hospital, "The two hospitals could then be joined by a ramp from the first floor, much like Mumbai-based PD Hinduja Hospital. There will be interconnectivity between the two hospitals." However, since the land is yet to be acquired, no time frame has been set for construction of the new building. The new hospital would have a built-up area of 44,000 square feet.


Mallya Hospital, Vittal Mallya Road
The present hospital, managed by Chaparral Health Services, was the first hospital in India to receive ISO-9002 certification, recently upgraded to ISO 9001:2000. The hospital is equipped with advanced MRI, helical scanning high speed CT, mammography and ultrasound equipment. "We have stainless steel OTs with vertical laminar flows which ensure zero infection," says Wadhwani.

The expanded hospital will consolidate the departments of cardiology, neurology, oncology and orthopaedics and will fortify Mallya Hospital's position in Bangalore's healthcare market.

"Whenever the President or Prime Minister visits Bangalore, the State Government always asks us to provide all facilities including the high-tech ambulance in the event of any emergency," says Wadhwani. After a moment's pause, he tells us the reason behind the hospital's popularity. "Our hospital is well known for its clinical skill, friendly ambience and motivated staff," he explains.

Columbia Asia

Bed Strength: 100 secondary care & 150 tertiary care


Columbia Asia Hospital, Hebbal
Located on the outskirts of the city, Columbia Asia Hospital in Hebbal has literally ushered in international standards in healthcare. The 100-bed secondary care centre hospital, set up around a year ago, is promoted by US-based investors. This was perhaps the first healthcare group to tap the secondary care market. Now, the group is replicating its model secondary care in Whitefield, located east of Bangalore. "For this Greenfield project, the construction has already started and is slated for commissioning by 2007 end or early 2008," informs Chairman, Columbia Asia Hospital, Dr Nandakumar Jairam. And why a secondary care centre? "We have seen the success of this model in south-east Asia and we believe if it has clicked there, it will also work in India," explains Dr Jairam.

Like the swanky hospital in Hebbal, where beautiful Chinese paintings adorn the walls, soothing lighting comforts pain and the ceilings of the labour rooms are decorated with cute cartoons, the upcoming hospital would also look resplendent, warm and comforting, promises Dr Jairam.

"Our 150-bed hospital has also started and is slated to be commissioned by early 2008"
- Tufan Ghosh
CEO
Columbia Asia

The group is also coming up with its first tertiary care hospital at Brigade Gateway, a 40-acre complex in Yeshwanthpur, west of Bangalore. "The construction work for our 150-bed hospital has also started and is slated to be commissioned by early 2008," says CEO Tufan Ghosh. Not keen on disclosing the cost of the projects, he says, "Both the projects will be funded by cent per cent FDI. We are targeting the middle income group for our hospital."

Pointing at patients from middle and lower income group flocking to the Hebbal Hospital, Dr Jairam said, "We don't turn away anybody." The new tertiary care hospital plans to have around 300 staff and doctors. The specialities to be offered will be anaesthesiology, cosmetic dermatology, dermatology, dental care, ENT, maxillo facial surgery, urology, psychiatry, vascular surgery, non-invasive cardiology, general surgery, GI, ophthalmology, onco-surgery, neurology and neuro-surgery. Like the Hebbal Hospital, the new hospitals would have a plasma TV in the sitting area of OPD to avoid queuing up and will provide scheduling and centralised medical gas system.

According to Dr Jairam, the uniqueness of Columbia Asia hospitals lies in re-defining the concept of care in hospitals. "A hospital is a hotel for sick people," he holds, adding, "We don't have any upfront payment in our hospital even for patients not covered by Mediclaim. The patient pays only after the treatment."

The hospitals would be paperless. "It would have tie-ups with foreign institutes for educational programmes," Ghosh adds.

Besides Bangalore, the group is eyeing both A and B cities in India. It has acquired land in Palam Vihar in Delhi for building a 100-bed secondary care centre. In the pipeline is a 100-bed centre in Mysore.

Sagar Specialty Hospital

Bed Strength: 750


The sprawling campus of Dayananda Sagar Institutions
The sprawling campus of Dayananda Sagar Institutions (DSI) at Shavige Malleswara Hills fascinates everyone by its sheer enormity and lush greenery. To know that the 750-bed Sagar Hospital is coming up here will gladden all Bangaloreans.


"The first phase of our hospital with 300 beds will be commissioned by early 2007"
- Dr D Premachandra Sagar
Vice Chairman
Sagar Group

According to Vice Chairman of Sagar Group Dr D Premachandra Sagar, "The first phase of our hospital with 300 beds will be commissioned by early 2007 and the next phase with 450 beds will be operational by 2008 end." The replacement cost of the project is Rs 400 crore and the project will be funded by FIs. The hospital will have a built-up area of 45,000 square feet.

What is the uniqueness of the hospital? "Cost-effective healthcare and human-to-human contact and personalised care. Besides, the hospital will have cutting-edge technology and will boast of young and energetic doctors," says Dr Sagar.

A front-runner in the field of education, DSI is run under the aegis of the Mahatma Gandhi Vidya Peetha Trust. "Our institutions are characterised by the quality of education across a broad range of disciplines from pre-university courses to post-graduation and doctoral programs covering Arts, Commerce, Sciences, Pharmacy, Engineering, Dental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Nursing, Allied Health, as well as Business Management and Information Technology," informs R Janardhan, Director, Business Strategy, DSI.

This is not the first enterprise of the Sagar group in healthcare. Founded by barrister R Dayananda Sagar, the group ventured into healthcare in the 90s by launching the 250-bed Sagar Apollo Hospital in Jayanagar Extension, in association with Apollo Hospital. While the infrastructure and management comes from the Sagar Group, Apollo Group offers the hospital (what is hos?) with its systems and processes.

Healthcare education is a thrust area for DSI through diploma and graduate programmes in Nursing. The Nursing faculty has well-equipped laboratories and modern infrastructure. This is supplemented with a team of professionally qualified faculty who guide the students to achieve their best.

Health City
Bed Strength: 5,000

Its sheer enormity and promise of making advanced medical care affordable to all have made this project the talk of the town. It is Bangalore's answer to Bengal Health City in Kolkata and the Medicity of Dr Naresh Trehan in Delhi.


"India requires 2.5 million heart surgeries annually"
- Dr Devi Shetty
Chairman
Health City

The 5,000-bed Health City is coming up on 35 acres at Bommasandra Industrial Area. The project, slated to be functional by two years, will have ten hospitals each housed in a different building. The 500-bed cardiac centre, Narayana Hrudayalaya, is already functional to meet the alarming demand of cardiac surgery in the country, home to the largest number of children with heart ailments in the world. The hospital shot to fame and gave a whole new dimension to Medical Tourism in Bangalore when baby Noor from Pakistan was operated here. "India requires 2.5 million heart surgeries annually, but only around 60,000 are conducted. A century after the first heart surgery, less than eight per cent of the population can afford heart surgery," laments Chairman of the Project Dr Devi Shetty, while explaining the rationale behind setting up such a massive project.

Phase-I of the hospital is spread over 12 acres of land with a built-up area of over 2.50 lakh square feet. "Presently, it has 500 beds with 10 operating rooms to perform 25 heart surgeries a day. With Phase-II, we will have a built-up area of four lakh square feet," Dr Shetty adds.

This second phase will have 1000 beds and 30 operating rooms to perform 75 heart surgeries a day. Besides the hospital, it will also accommodate a teaching institute to train cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, cardiac anaesthetists, nurses, various technicians and healthcare specialists.

Besides cardiology, the Health City will have hospitals for specialities like orthopaedics, cancer, neuro-surgery, ophthalmology (Narayana Nethralaya) and one catering to women and children.

The project cost for this entire project is a whopping Rs 2,000 crore. While Dr Shetty and his family are financing Narayana Hrudayalaya, Dr Bhujang Shetty has pumped in money for Narayana Nethralaya and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon, is funding the cancer hospital. K Dinesh of Ashraya Ashtha Foundation is the man behind the advanced organ transplant centre and Dr Sharan Patil is financing the orthopaedic hospital. According to KS Vasuki, General Manager, Corporate Relations, "Though Azim Premji, Chairman and Managing Director of Wipro Technologies has offered to buy a stake in Narayana Hrudayalaya for Rs 160 crore, nothing has been finalised just yet."

The neuro-surgery unit was started in 2004 and the Emami National Institute for Bone Marrow Transplant was started in 2004, as the state's largest bone marrow transplant unit.

"The ophthalmology centre will do around 300 cataract surgeries a day. The target for the heart centre is to have 70 heart surgeries a day," informs Dr Shetty, credited with over 4,000 open-heart surgeries.

The project will recruit around 1000 doctors and 12,000 to 15,000 workforce, he add. The hospital is already doing high-end surgeries like bone marrow, liver, and endo-vascular for cerebral aneurysm. It has an epilepsy centre and also treats pulmonary embolism. "To cater to people across sections, we will offer subsidised treatment," adds Dr Shetty.

Besides affordable healthcare, telemedicine would a thrust area of the Health City. Narayana Hrudayalaya is already running a unique telemedicine programme in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). In the first leg, the facility is connected with the north-eastern hilly regions of Tripura, Siliguri, Bankura in West-Bengal, Tinsukia in Assam, and Chamrajnagara, the tribal belt of Karnataka.

The hospital also manages Yeshasvini Health Scheme for the rural masses of Karnataka for a nominal Rs 10 per month. "Covering about three million people and 1,700 various kinds of surgeries, today 170 hospitals are recognised for treatment at 27 districts in Karnataka ensuring farmers do not travel outside their districts for operations, except for heart and brain surgery, which are carried out at eight hospitals, spread across the major cities of the state," informs Dr Shetty.

HCG

Bed Strength: 80 more beds

Healthcare Global Enterprises Limited (HCG) is a frontrunner in oncology care with its 120-bed Bangalore Institute of Oncology (BIO). Having starting its services in 1989 as the flagship unit of Banashankari Medical and Oncology Research Centre (BMORC) with five consultants and 30 beds, BIO has come a long way. It is now consolidating its position with a new 80-bed oncology facility.

"The new hospital will be a dedicated oncology centre, with a central reference lab and GMP radiopharmaceutical unit"
- Dr Ajai Kumar
Chairman
HCG

Dr Ajai Kumar, Chairman, HCG, said, "The new hospital will be a dedicated oncology centre, with a central reference laboratory and GMP radiopharmaceutical unit and clinical trials management centre."

The new hospital would be operational by end of September. The cost of the project is Rs 60 core, out of which Rs 20 crore will be for PET CT, Rs 20 crore for the reference lab and another Rs 20 crore for the hospital. The group would invest another Rs 75 to Rs 80 crore to add another 150 beds in the near future. "We are in the process of acquiring land for our future expansion," Dr Kumar adds.

HCG has recently announced Rs 500 million investment for oncology centres across the country. "The Bangalore project would have investments from the money that we raised through the equity," added Dr Kumar.

Receiving 3,000 patients annually as of now, BIO's patient inflow would double with the new facility, Dr Kumar hopes. HCG, which also runs the Curie Centre, is having talks to manage another Curie centre in Bangalore.


Linac Centre at Bangalore Institute of Oncology
BIO, which has recently added a first of its kind LINAC Centre, is in the process of introducing Intensive Modulated Radio Therapy (IMRT) where the focus is on preserving normal tissues. Linac Centre is also equipped with CT Simulator, Treatment Planning System, LANTAS Network and Therapy unit. Says KS Dattatreya, GM, Strategy and Development, HCG, "BIO is also in the process of setting up PET-CT Scan, a revolution in the detection and management of Cancer. The centre will be installing PET CT and a cyclotron, the only one in the city. entre(is this right?)."

Manipal Health Systems

Bed Strength: 600-bed in Devanahalli


"We are just waiting for the new airport to come up at Devanahalli to start the hospital"
- R Basil
CEO
MHS

MHS, which has 13 hospitals, including one in Malaysia and Nepal, is building another 600-bed in Devanahalli. The multi-speciality hospital will be spread over 15 acres, which right now is just a barren piece of land. "We are just waiting for the new airport to come up at Devanahalli to start the hospital," says CEO, MHS, R Basil. The hospital will be similar to the hospital on Airport Road and will have a heli-landing facility too.


Manipal Hospital, Airport Road
The group, which has a combined bed strength of over 5,000, more than 1700 consultants and 5000 employees, is also expanding the Northside Hospital at Malleshwaram. The present 70-bed secondary care hospital, which stands close to Malleshwaram station, was bought in 1993 as a nursing home. According to Dr Sandeep Desmond Dsouza, Manager, Medical Services, and in-charge of the project, "Since then, the building is being slowly converted to a secondary care centre. An expansion of 45 more beds is being planned on the adjoining plot. This will be completed in 12 months time. There will be an expansion of bed capacities of existing specialities such as orthopaedics, general surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics, nephrology, urology, cardiology and radio diagnostics to name a few," informs Sharma. Plans are also afoot to add 200 beds to the flagship hospital in Airport Road, Bangalore. "We are forced to expand as there is a waiting list of patients for surgeries," Basil informs.

Impact

The repercussion of the boom is manifold. The growth ushers in affordable healthcare, renewed emphasis on quality and enhanced patient care. On any day, Bangalore's healthcare is cheaper than Delhi or Mumbai- be it bypass, angioplasty or even doctor's consultation charges. And now competition will keep charges on hold, say industry experts. Apart from low infrastructure cost and labour cost, experts say that treatment is cheaper as the price is determined by the hospital. "Bangalore's healthcare is not doctor-driven, but brand driven," says Wockhardt's Bali. And what has made it even more affordable is the entry of insurance players and various corporate tie-ups.

When quality is the buzzword, can accreditation be far behind? While hospitals with ISO are making preparations for JCI and NABH, new hospitals are planned and built to international accreditation standards. There is a special thrust on cleanliness and hence low nosocomial infection rate and proper waste disposal practices.

According to Prof Anil Kumar, Head, Department of Hospital Administration, KMC, Manipal, "Delivery will improve and innovation will result in better performance results for the organisations. Processes and systems will be simplified and upgraded."

Another positive impact is the focus on hospitality. Manipal Hospital, Airport Road, for instance, has set a precedent by recruiting people from hospitality. "Now, people in the kitchen are handled from people from hospitality sector only," says A Malathy, Head, Medical Services, Wockhardt Hospitals, Bannerghatta. CEO of Columbia Asia, Tufan Ghosh who hails from a hospitality background asserts, "It helps me understand the need of the patient better."

With more manpower, the functioning of the HR department in hospitals is also getting clearly defined. "While earlier they operated from a single room restricting themselves to just recruiting, now there is more emphasis on training and development," says Dr Malathy.

Along with hospital projects, there would be expansion of diagnostic centres, and satellite centres to feed the main hospitals. "Pharmacy outlets, day care centres, cosmetic centres, lifestyle clinics will also increase. Brand building activity will also be given importance now," says Dr Satyashanker.

Do small players face the threat of being washed away? Will they be compelled to consolidate? Yes, there could be shakedown and marginal players may disappear, feel experts. Already some Bangalore nursing homes are facing the heat and offering to sell or be run by professional groups. "Mergers and Acquisitions could happen as shown recently in the country. Strong players with financial muscle, with commitment to healthcare and business focus will survive and thrive in the long term," says Prof Kumar. The small players can survive by tying up with big players. "Nursing homes can act as spokes for the hospitals," suggests Dr Malathy.

But what are the hurdles and downsides of this boom? Unethical practice can be one. "It may be initially difficult to break the cut practice (what is this?), but that is only initially," an expert observes.

The Way Forward

Though the boom will continue, what can pose a major hurdle for a few groups is the upcoming zonal regulation, which states that any new infrastructure should have 75 per cent open space and 25 per cent built-up area, says Dr Sagar, who is also a former minister with the Karnataka government. While a few claim ignorance of the regulation, HCG's Dr Kumar decries the restrictions. "The government should focus on building the infrastructure of the city rather than coming up with such stringent regulations. There is no such regulation on built-up space of hospitals in the US," he maintains.

According to Bali, the government needs to encourage the growth of private healthcare as it is a necessity. "The state of Karnataka is dependent on Bangalore for medical treatment. Around 40 per cent of the patients come from outside Bangalore."

Huge capital investments, lack of market penetration of health insurance, lack of consensus on various issues like pricing, salaries, consumer preferences etc, high staff turnover, individual halo effect and dependence, and lack of universal standards could prove to be other obstacles to growth, says Prof Kumar of KMC.

And how do we hedge the hurdles? Standardisation, quality management and accreditation, health insurance, and industry-friendly statutory guidelines, simplified tax tariffs including tax holidays, incentives and exemptions are the need of the hour, avers one expert. "The Government must take the initiative and promote healthcare as a thrust area. It will bring in huge foreign revenues just like the IT industry and will also benefit other industries including job opportunities for many. The brain drain can also be reduced if not completely," prophesies Prof Kumar. Others feel that the government should take steps to check the skyrocketing real estate prices so as to enable sustained growth. In the years to come, the city's healthcare will consolidate its position further. Bali has the last word on this: Bangalore is the knowledge capital of the country and healthcare is fundamental to knowledge. So, along with the growth of knowledge, healthcare will grow to usher in a better tomorrow.

rita@expresshealthcaremgmt.com