The Hindu Business Line : Wockhardt plans chain of cardiac care units

Wockhardt Hospitals on Thursday unveiled its plan to set up a string of 25-bed intensive coronary care units starting with Bangalore, along with a newly acquired team of eight cardiologists and cardiac surgeons.

Cardiac care will be the primary focus and is being strengthened across the group's six hospitals, Mr Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals Group, told a news conference. The ICCU network is expected to be in place by August.

With the new team in and the upcoming second hospital for multi-speciality care in Bangalore opening in June, Wockhardt would vie for the top slot in cardiac care in the country, he said.

Paediatric care

Wockhardt is also foraying into paediatric cardiac care through three specialists in its new team. Bangalore would be the national referral centre for all paediatric heart cases.

The hospital group would now have 20 cardiologists and cardiac surgeons in Bangalore alone, and nearly 60 heart specialists at its hospitals in other cities. The ICCU network, part of Wockhardt's ongoing Rs 500-crore healthcare expansion, is being implemented initially at six locations in Bangalore with 25 beds each. A fleet of cardiac ambulances will back the network. This would be expanded to other cities. With this, the overall capacity of the healthcare unit of the pharma major Wockhardt was set to grow to 600 beds.

The heart hospital in Bangalore has been functioning operating for 17 years and the new 400-bed hospital opening in mid-June would nearly double its cardiac capabilities to nearly 4,000 surgeries a year, apart from offering services in orthopaedics, neurology-neurosurgery and women's health.