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Malar Heart Foundation in Chennai

S. Bridget Leena

Chennai, Oct. 1 Fortis Healthcare expects to invest Rs 20 crore to upgrade Malar Hospital. (International Hospitals, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare, paid Rs 34.6 crore for a 48.8 per cent stake in Malar Hospital in early 2008.)

Mr Shivinder M. Singh, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Fortis Healthcare, told Business Line: “What Malar lacks is the volume and quality of medical facility.

“My major concern is revenue generation, (which means) better utilisation of beds.”

Best practises and better management have been put in place and better clinician engagement sharing has improved the revenues of Malar from Rs 1.5 crore during the first quarter of 2006-07 to Rs 2.2 crore a month during the first quarter of the current financial year, said Mr Singh.

To improve the revenue generation, the hospital not only needs to upgrade the basic infrastructure but also its medical equipment, he said.

Mr Singh said Malar being a multi-speciality hospital, four major areas have been identified that will be given thrust — cardiac, orthopaedics, neurosciences and women health.

The hospital has 180 beds and is currently operating 140 beds; “We will ensure better utilisation of facilities”, he said.

When asked about specific plans for the South, Mr Singh said that Fortis Healthcare expects to have 40 hospitals and 6,000 beds nationally by 2010.

“We would look at both acquiring and setting up hospitals; we prefer to acquire for two key reasons — time and locations”, he said.

Currently, Fortis has 22 hospitals and 2,500 beds, of which 1,600 beds are operational.

More Stories on : Outlook | Medical Institutions & Hospitals

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