To compete with big names, hospitals go for revamp

With many healthcare majors setting up multi-facility units in the Millennium City, the existing hospitals are on make over spree to compete with the big brothers in the market. Afraid of getting lost in the race with big names like Medanta Medic City, Max, Fortis, small hospitals situated in the Ol d Gurgaon area are now redesigning themselves as super-specialty units focusing on their unique selling points.

For example, Sheetla Hospital which has a legacy of 50 years of Ophthalmology has got an additional super-speciality Neo-Natal unit.

Similarly, Pushpanjali Hospital which was hitherto a popular urology centre has upgraded as a full-fledged hospital by adding facilities such as laser and bi-polar cattery unit, test tube baby centre in the past one-and-a-half year’s time.

“We do not want to become a nursing home when all our facilities are at par with the big hospitals in town. The healthcare sector has witnessed many dramatic changes and we have made sure to keep pace and be the first to introduce the latest technologies especially in

terms of Ophthalmology and Paediatric care,” said Ajay Sharma, Chairman and MD, Sheetla Hospital and Eye- Q.

“The best thing about small hospitals is that they don’t overcharge.

For a surgery in which a big hospital charges R1 lakh, we charge only R25,000,” said SP Yadav of Pushpanjali Hospital.

Subhash Khanna of 100-bed Kalyani hospital, said: “We already have all facilities such as cardiac, dialysis, laparoscopic and urology but being smaller in size, we can't conduct major surgeries such as pertaining to oncology and radiotherapy. But we manage to give the stroke of personal touch to the patients.”

Alchemist Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) which was started as a cardiac hospital recently has also decided to become a multi specialty institution.

"We have already initiated nephrology, dentistry and general medicine and will soon add other specialties including gynaecology & obstetrician, general surgery, ENT and ophthalmology by August this year," said Sanjay Sharma, chief operating officer of AIMS.