The Hindu Business Line : Hindustan Latex launches nationwide hospital network

WITH a view to offering quality and affordable reproductive and child healthcare services in rural and semi-urban areas, a trust set up by Hindustan Latex has kicked off a nationwide hospitals network with the brand name LifeSpring Hospital, through franchisee route.

The first such hospital was opened at Moula Ali near here. Another will come up in Kanpur this year. Eighteen `weak' States in the country will have such hospitals around their State Capitals. These would act as training centres for scores of other hospitals that would come up in phases. Besides the ones near the State Capitals, about 200 units would come up initially.

The hospitals in the network will offer standardised medical services to the poor and the middle class. While the services and price tags were endorsed by the Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust, the hospitals will get training, accreditation and marketing support from the trust.

Addressing a gathering after launching the service here on Saturday, Mr P.K. Hota, Secretary (Health and Family Welfare, Government of India), said the country lagged behind in providing basic and secondary level medicare facilities.

The private sector played a major role in offering healthcare services in the country. Nearly 75 per cent of healthcare assets in the country were in the private sector. So it was imperative to engage the private sector in offering healthcare solutions. "If we don't induce the private sector in offering public health services, it is very difficult facing the daunting task," he said.

The Government had sanctioned Rs 3 crore so far for the new initiative. "We will give Rs 10 crore more this year. We will scale it up next year," he said.

Mr G. Manoj, Chief Executive Officer of the trust, said the initiative was a social enterprise. "We have evolved a model after studying differing kinds of social franchising models in some other countries," he said.

Non-Governmental organisations would also be involved, he added.

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