Chennai: With India being home to 12-18 million blind population, Dr Agarwal’s Healthcare Limited (DAHCL) is set to increase the number of its hospitals in the country.
The group is known to offer quality healthcare services and has 76 facilities (63 in India and 13 in Africa).
The project of geographical expansion is being supported by Temasek, a global investor anchored in Singapore, which is pumping in Rs 270 crore.
On the sidelines of a press conference held in the city to discuss the plans, News Today had a conversation with Dr Agarwal’s Group of Eye Hospitals chairman, Dr Amar Agarwal.
About expansion…
In the next three-five years, we plan to add 75 more hospitals to meet the growing needs of primary eye care in India. The major focus would be metro cities and tier-2 and tier-3 towns. After an audit, that was carried out by the in-house clinical team, we have decided to provide door-to-door services.
Along with expansion, every branch will have state-of-the-art equipment and offer same high-quality procedure to treat eye-related illnesses. Only when circumstances do not cooperate, the patient would be brought to the main centre in the respective cities.
In all the facilities across the world, around 10,000 patients walk in for treatment per day which will go up to 30,000 in the next few years. With respect to expansion in Chennai, currently, we have 17 facilities which will be increased to 25 in coming years.
Can you tell about employment opportunities provided by Dr Agarwal’s?
At present, the hospital has 350 ophthalmologists and 3,000 staff supporting other roles in the firm. We hope to add 800 more doctors to our team and the count of other employees would reach 5,000-6,000 when we expand our services. In addition, the training centre associated with the group offers post graduation and fellowship programmes.
What are the investment strategies?
The approach that we have planned would be a combination of greenfield and brownfield modes. For instance, we have a facility in Thiruvananthapuram which has earned a name by itself. But, if we are going to open a new one in Trichur and familiar with a renowned expert in the locality, we would go for acquisition.
We are open to acquiring and also going from the ground-up, either way they become a part of Dr Agarwal’s and not a franchise. The group is planning for 60 per cent greenfield and 40 per cent brownfield method.
While the group has an existing partner – ADV, that invested Rs 270 crore in 2016. To fund the new plans, Temasek has chipped in by offering another Rs 270 crore. We have not officially disclosed the loan amount.
On technological advancement and government’s support…
The hospital has been pioneering several technologically-advanced surgical procedure across the world. To speak about the aid of Tamilnadu government, the retinal surgery has been supported by Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme (CMCHIS) that has benefited citizens of various strata.
Recently, ‘Glued IOL’ procedure was introduced to treat complicated lens problem which has not been covered under the scheme. But we are having talks with Tamilnadu Minister for Health and Family Welfare, C Vijayabaskar, for inclusion, as it could make things simple. For problems like keratoconus, this surgery can be performed instead of opting for eye transplantation.
Across the world, the respective governments have been supporting us to render eyecare services to the hospital.
Can you throw light on PDEK?
As against the usual method of transplanting the whole cornea, we harvest only tissues measuring 25 microns. The novel procedure known as PDEK (Pre Descemet’s Endothelial Keratoplasty). minimises the chances of rejection in the receiving end and does not require sutures. With this method, a deceased person can provide vision for two persons whereas in traditional procedure, transplantation from one departed person can only benefit one patient.