City doc plans largest hospital for gastroenterology in Asia

D Nageswar Reddy, a gastroenterologist of international repute and the director of the city-based Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, is close to realising his dream project i.e., setting up the most-modern gastroenterology hospital in this part of the world which specialises in healthcare, research and education.

The four-time Endoscopy Grand Master and recipient of the highest specialities medical award in the country "� Dr BC Roy Award "� he has enlisted the support of a few leading corporates in the city and a score of others to help him set up his venture envisaged to cost Rs 90 crore in phases.

The Rs 30-crore first phase of the project under the aegis of Asian Healthcare Foundation is gearing up for launch in the first quarter of 2004.

The equipment costs are alone being put at Rs 20 crore, with miscellaneous expenditure including the cost of land accounting for Rs 10 crore. Donations and the institute's own funds are enough to take up the first phase, the doctor claims.

In an interview given to Business Standard, Nageswar Reddy has stressed the need for such a specialty institute in the country where around 30 per cent of the population suffer from gastric and liver diseases.

Before dwelling on the project, he hastened to make it clear that the hospital would not essentially function like other corporate hospitals in the country, and would follow a transparent method in charging the patients as per their financial status.

He said a three-tier system would be put in place. In the top segment fall the rich class who will be charged as in other corporate hospitals. For the middle class, there will be cost-to-cost charges, and the poor will be provided with free treatment.

"It will be run more like a trust-run hospital for the poor, and as a corporate hospital for the higher segments. Our social workers would judge the financial well-being of the patients and decide the charges accordingly. It's like the rich cross-subsidising the medicare costs of the poor ," he said.

The current activities of the institute are mostly outpatient services with some surgeries undertaken, and the expansion would see the hospital offering all the speciality treatments in the field of gastroenterology under one roof.

Apart from this, the institute would also offer latest treatments with wireless pH Capsule and M2A Patency Capsule. Endoscopic Cryosurgery Endoscopic Therapy for Obesity, Oral Transgastic Endoscopic Pertoneoscopy Endoscopic Appendectomy are among the modern treatment methods to be offered.

The hospital, coming up initially on a 1.34 lakh sft area with 200-bed capacity at Errum Manzil in the city, would soon turn out to be the first-of-its-kind institute dedicated to gastroenterology not only in India but in the continent as well.

Elaborating on this, he said the project's objectives had won over the 10 top gastroenterologists in the world, who had expressed willingness to render one-month free service every year at the institute.

In addition to the 10 Indian consultants, 20 foreign specialists would be appointed at the hospital, he informed.

Reddy hardly suppresses his elation at being relived from the busy medical practice so he could devote his entire time to the research. He is is equally known for his research as for medical acumen.

He developed indigenous accessories like oesophagus prothies which lowered medical costs and helps the country save the precious foreign exchange.

For this he received an award from the Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy of India. In the case of M2A capsules, the costs were brought down from $ 450 to $ 100-200. He has also patented stents which are much cheaper than the imported ones.

He is also the pioneer of the technique for examining and treating small intestinal diseases by a novel and easy applicable simplified endoscopic technique to diagnose and treat small bowel diseases.

He introduced the first endoscopic sewing machine in Asian in 2001. As for pancreatic endotherapy, he has the world's largest experience with this therapeutic technique.

The doctor informed that genetic research including stem cell research is also in the plans.

Asian Institute has tied up with the city-based CCMB and foreign universities like North Western University of Chicago and University of Texas Medical Branch in this regard, Nageshwar Reddy said, adding he would, however, continue to offer super specialty training to doctors. He has so far trained 200 doctors from all over world.

A 40-acre land donated to the institute on the outskirts will house all these major activities in the second phase to be taken up within two years, he added.