Fortis Hospital to upgrade services

The Fortis Hospital in Mohali has started admitting senior citizens of Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula at a concessional annual fee of Rs 500.

On the fourth anniversary of Fortis, a club for senior citizens called Golden Age Club has been launched.

The chief operating officer of Fortis, Jasbir Grewal, told Business Standard the hospital could handle about 3,000 patients of Golden Age Club every month. If the number increased, the scheme would still continue, he added.

The hospital is also in the process of signing deals with counterparts in Zambia and Zimbabwe for the treatment of foreigners. The hospital gets a large number of NRIs every month for cardiac surgery.

Grewal, a manager with a background in the hospitality industry, seeks to equate health care with hospitality care. To achieve this, an attendant welfare officer has been appointed at the hospital to feedback from the patients' attendants.

Based on this, the authorities have decided to put up a huge shed in the hospital lawn and a 24-hour canteen that would be more affordable than the existing café. This will come up next month.

The corporate hospital has started a counselling system for patients undergoing heart surgeries and surgeries related to cancer treatment. A family entertainment room is also a unique feature of this hospital. The hospital will also start an ICU for paediatric cardiac surgeries from next month.

The 133-bed hospital will be a 200-bed one by the end of 2005. The number of beds will increase to 300 by the end of 2006.

This apart, the hospital is contemplating taking over about six hospitals in the region and upgrade them to the level of Fortis.