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Close to two years after its big-ticket acquisition of select hospitals from Wockhardt, the Fortis chain of hospitals is hoping to crack the Mumbai conundrum.
“Mumbai is the only city where there is no major integrated healthcare player,” observes Dr Lloyd Nazareth, Fortis Hospitals' Chief Operating Officer, adding that they were looking for opportunities to get into two “uncovered geographies” in the city – South Mumbai and the Western suburbs of the city. In the past too, hospital networks have lamented that sky-high real-estate prices have prevented them from setting up in the city.
Nevertheless, Fortis expects its expansion into the Western and Southern parts of the country to drive the hospital network's momentum of growth, Dr Nazareth told Business Line .
Fortis Hospitals Ltd comprises hospitals acquired from Wockhardt in August 2009, and it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare.
Having moved to “asset-light” models, Fortis is in discussions with real-estate developers and Trusts, to explore development of hospital projects or management contracts to run existing hospitals, he said.
“There are several assets in Mumbai that have huge value but are under-managed,” he says, adding that several Trusts too run hospitals and have land that can be leveraged.
“It is difficult to get an ICU bed (in the intensive care unit) in Central Mumbai,” he adds, underlining the need for more healthcare facilities in the city.
The Fortis model is to set up hospitals, acquire existing ones or enter into management contracts where promoters want healthcare professionals to run the show, he explained. Fortis is at present in the city through a management contract with S.L. Raheja Hospital in June 2009 and through Hiranandani Hospital (Navi Mumbai), acquired in 2007.
There are plans for a large facility in Gujarat, other parts of Maharashtra and Western Madhya Pradesh, said Fortis Hospitals Regional Director Mr Varun Khanna. With a presence in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the hospitals group is targeting Andhra Pradesh and Kerala, he added.
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