New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) India’s largest hospital chain operator Apollo Hospitals is planning to set up more hospitals in the country and add over 3,000 beds over the next two years, Company Chairman Prathap C. Reddy said Thursday.
‘We plan to open new hospitals in different cities. There is also plan to expand capacity of the existing hospitals,’ Reddy told reporters on the sidelines of a CII event here.
Apollo Hospitals currently has 8,500 beds in 50 hospitals. It also runs nearly 1,000 pharmacies and 100 diagnostic clinics.
On proposed investment on the expansion plans, Reddy said each bed would cost around Rs.60 lakh. However, he declined to specify the total proposed investment on the expansion plan.
‘Most of these expansion will be in tier-1 and tier-2 cities,’ Reddy said, adding the company is trying to bring down the cost in view of the increased demand for cost- effective medical treatment in the country.
‘Earlier, addition of one bed used to cost around Rs.1 crore. Now we are bringing the cost down,’ he added.
Reddy said a huge investment was needed to ensure quality healthcare facilities for the common people in the country. ‘We need to invest at least Rs.50,000 crore annually on healthcare. The investment has to be continued for over a decade. Only then we can ensure good quality healthcare facilities.’
— Indo-Asian News Service
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