dahiyars
July 23rd, 2006, 06:48 AM
Dear All
Apollo Hospital Group prides itself as being the “the fourth largest private healthcare group in the world and the largest in Asia. With over 6400 beds in 32 hospitals, a string of nursing and hospital management colleges, and dual lifelines of pharmacies and diagnostic clinics” it is indeed a “powerhouse” of healthcare. The Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi is the 4th largest corporate owned hospital in the world constructed at a cost of $ 44 million which has 692 beds and 14 operation theatres and handles about 200,000 patients annually, about 60,000 being indoor patients and of the latter about 10,000 or 17% are from other countries. This hospital was built in 1996 on 15 acres prime land worth an estimated $2.5 million given by the Delhi government free of cost (at a token lease rent of Re 1 per annum). Apart from this the Delhi government invested $3.4 million in construction of the hospital and contributed $5.22 million as equity capital. Besides this tax and duty waivers on import of equipment etc. were also given. In lieu of this public subsidy the agreement was that treatment for one-third of the beds would be made available free of cost to poor patients.
The fact of the matter is that the free treatment part was undermined by the Hospital, both a legal and ethical violation, and the Delhi government was negligent in demanding accountability to honour the terms of the agreement. When this fact came to public notice a public interest litigation was filed in the Delhi High Court and this led to the appointment of the Justice Qureshi Committee which exposed the huge scam of misuse of public subsidies by private hospitals in Delhi, including the Apollo Hospital case (also discussed below in the box on PPPs). The Report further indicated that only 2% of indoor cases in 1999-2000 in Apollo Hospital were treated free and most of these were relatives of staff, bureaucrats and politicians. In contrast the average for all the 27 hospitals was 9.7% free indoor patients.
There are at least 500 such hospitals across the country and the public subsidy at stake would be in the range of at least two billion dollars! And it is these very hospitals which are at the core of the booming medical tourism.
Please comment
R.S.Dahiya
Apollo Hospital Group prides itself as being the “the fourth largest private healthcare group in the world and the largest in Asia. With over 6400 beds in 32 hospitals, a string of nursing and hospital management colleges, and dual lifelines of pharmacies and diagnostic clinics” it is indeed a “powerhouse” of healthcare. The Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi is the 4th largest corporate owned hospital in the world constructed at a cost of $ 44 million which has 692 beds and 14 operation theatres and handles about 200,000 patients annually, about 60,000 being indoor patients and of the latter about 10,000 or 17% are from other countries. This hospital was built in 1996 on 15 acres prime land worth an estimated $2.5 million given by the Delhi government free of cost (at a token lease rent of Re 1 per annum). Apart from this the Delhi government invested $3.4 million in construction of the hospital and contributed $5.22 million as equity capital. Besides this tax and duty waivers on import of equipment etc. were also given. In lieu of this public subsidy the agreement was that treatment for one-third of the beds would be made available free of cost to poor patients.
The fact of the matter is that the free treatment part was undermined by the Hospital, both a legal and ethical violation, and the Delhi government was negligent in demanding accountability to honour the terms of the agreement. When this fact came to public notice a public interest litigation was filed in the Delhi High Court and this led to the appointment of the Justice Qureshi Committee which exposed the huge scam of misuse of public subsidies by private hospitals in Delhi, including the Apollo Hospital case (also discussed below in the box on PPPs). The Report further indicated that only 2% of indoor cases in 1999-2000 in Apollo Hospital were treated free and most of these were relatives of staff, bureaucrats and politicians. In contrast the average for all the 27 hospitals was 9.7% free indoor patients.
There are at least 500 such hospitals across the country and the public subsidy at stake would be in the range of at least two billion dollars! And it is these very hospitals which are at the core of the booming medical tourism.
Please comment
R.S.Dahiya