Apollo plans hospitals in Agra, Ludhiana

Health centres in London on cards

Apollo Hospitals, the largest private hospital group in Asia, plans to open two new multi-speciality hospitals in Agra and Ludhiana in September this year.

The group also plans to set up healthcare centres in England in June. These will provide general medical related information and post-operative information to non resident Indians (NRIs), Alexander Kuruvilla, chief executive officer, Apollo Hospitals, said.

Apollo Hospitals will carry out research work in the new hospitals and each of these will have special clinics and research departments, said Kuruvilla. Asked about research work at Apollo Ahmedabad, he said that by the end of year, Apollo would start research work in Ahmedabad as well.

Meanwhile, I K Jadeja, minister for health & family welfare in the Gujarat government, said: "The state government is always open to support new public and private partnerships to strengthen the health sector."

Treatment for all ailments are now available in Ahmedabad itself and people need not go Mumbai or Chennai for treatment and surgery, Jadeja added.

K S Murthy, chief of pediatric cardiac surgery, Apollo, said: "We have installed state-of-the-art facility and equipment such as heart lung machine which we brought from USA at a cost of Rs 40 lakh." He said Rs 3 crore has been invested for the pediatric cardiology ward recently.

The Apollo Hospitals group has been recognised as the architect of modern healthcare in India. It is an integrated healthcare provider, with its first corporate hospital set up in Chennai in 1983.

Several nations in the Asian subcontinent receive healthcare through Apollo's 38 hospitals. In 2004, Apollo Hospitals was the largest private hospital group in Asia, with a network of hospitals and retail pharmacies across India.