The healthcare sector in Bangalore is on an upswing with most of large hospitals in the city reporting a steep rise in patient inflow. The current occupancy in the ten major hospitals in the city is 93 percent, which is higher by 20 percent in the last five months when it was 73 per cent. The total bed strength in these hospitals is 4,000. The major hospitals and nursing homes in Bangalore are reporting full capacity even in wards. All hospitals in the city have plans of expansion to meet the increase of in-patients and out patients. Though the sources in the healthcare sector in Bangalore cannot quantify the revenue collections of hospitals, they see a clear boom for hospital business here.

The reason for the boom in the hospital business is a general rise in ailments, healthcare awareness among patients and affordable costs at the hospitals in most of the hospitals. Hospitals like Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences offer free treatment to all. Narayana Hrudayalaya has subsidized cost of surgeries for patients belongs to low-income groups. Manipal Hospital charges are competitive and a lot of concessions are given by many hospitals. There has also been rise in the inflow of patients from neighboring States to Bangalore hospitals. A large number of patients are also coming to Bangalore for treatments. Almost 20 percent of the occupancy in major hospitals in this city is on account of patients coming from abroad. Among these Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences tops the list for patients from abroad who are mainly from middle income groups .

The major diseases in the city today are those related to the heart, diabetes, oncology and renal failures, according to leading hospital heads in the city.

In the last six months, four new cardiology hospitals that have started in the city are all fully occupied and no beds are available. But the hospital heads are forced to keep a few beds vacant in the intensive care unit [ICU] to handle emergencies. Many patients who are rushed to casualty at these hospitals for high fever, diarrhea and other infections are referred to nursing homes after providing the immediate medical attention. The Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences which is a 333-bed hospital has 323 beds occupied and the remaining 10 beds are kept for emergencies. At Narayana Hrudayalaya, out of the 280 beds 150 are occupied. Trinity Hospital, 75 beds occupied out of 85-beds,. Mahaveer Jain Hospital, which has 100-beds, 92, are full. All heads of hospitals said that in Bangalore hospitals are doing well on account of the state of the art technology and the success rate of doctors in treating patients.

Manipal Hospital, which is a 390-bed super specialty facility, at present has a 93 per cent occupancy rate, the highest in the last five years. Seven per cent of beds are kept vacant for emergencies like accidents, cardiac problems and maternity. The hospital will go in for an expansion later this year to meet the growing demand, informed Dr. [Brig.] V P Bhaskaran, chief executive officer, Manipal Hospital. Manipal Hospital has 30 specialty departments. These include genetics, paediatric endocrinology-diabetology, oncology research and neonatology, where cases are referred from all over the country. The out patient inflow is 650 a day, which is an increase of about 200 over the last one month.

Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute, which is a 100-bed facility set up 10 years ago at an investment of Rs. 20 crore, has begun work on another 225-bed hospital in Bangalore, which will be completed by 2003 to meet increased patient inflow. This new hospital is designed with the assistance from Harvard Medical team and will soon be one of the most advanced hospitals in the country, said Vishal Bali, general manager, Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute. "We have proved that single specialty focus can help in adding much more value to patient care and therefore increase patient confidence in the facility," he added.

The increase in cardiac cases saw Bangalore being termed the Mecca for cardiology with four new hospitals that have already come up in the city at an investment of Rs. 715 crore. The city currently has the distinction of having nine dedicated heart hospitals - Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute, Manipal Heart Foundation, St. John's Hospital Cardiac Centre, St. Philomenas Cardiology Wing, Sri Satya Sai Hospital [Rs. 500 crore] , Whitefield, Narayana Hrudayalaya [Rs. 200 crore], Mahaveer Jain Cardiology Centre Rs. 5 crore, Trinity Hospital Rs. 10 crore and Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology [JIC] [Rs. 100 crore]. No other city in India has so many cardiac medical centres like Bangalore, claims Ms. Nafees Fazal, minister for medical education, government of Karnataka. The total investment of the nine cardiac hospitals is around Rs. 1,000 crore.

Hospitals like Narayana Hrudayalaya and Sri Satya Institute of Higher Medical Sciences have a long waiting list for cardiac surgeries. Doctors at these hospitals said cases from outside the State are on the rise and to handle the rush of patients more efficiently, preference for surgery is given to the most serious cases.

Like heart complaints, it has been observed by hospital heads of Mallya, St. John's and Wockhardt that a lot of oncology and nephrology cases were admitted with patients in the age group of 30- 45 years.

The main reason for the demand for treatment and hospitals is on account of growing awareness that prevention is better than cure. Health checks are on the rise and early detection of diseases helps faster control and cure, pointed out Dr. [Brig] Bhaskaran.

There are competent doctors, surgeons, advanced diagnostics, latest equipment at all private hospitals in the city. People are well- informed about details of treatment, comparative cost of treatment and information about qualified doctors and surgeons of all hospitals in the city in the private sector, said Dr. [Brig.] Bhaskaran.

The reason for serious health disorders is today's lifestyle- rich diets, lack of exercise, smoking, stress and strain, said Dr. [Brig.] Bhaskaran.

Mallya Hospital too is facing the problem of demand over supply. Plans of expansion are on paper. Dr. M Srikanta, consultant diabetologist, Mallya Hospital, opined that more and more people are being diagnosed for diabetes in the city. Fast food and frenetic life styles lead to this disease among the people, especially youngsters, he said. On an average, there are 200 patients treated for diabetes alone at Mallya every day, he said.

The stress levels in the city are high. Scarcity of jobs, competition and high cost of living lead people - mostly the 25-45 year olds - on an overeating binge and smoking to beat the stress. This results in diabetes among youngsters and enlarged hearts among the older section of the population, pointed out Dr. B P Gururaja Rao, a leading physician and cardiologist in the city.

In the area of renal care, government hospitals like Victoria and Bowring are running to full capacity, according to nephrology department officials. Bangalore Kidney Foundation [BKF], a private hospital specializing in paediatric/adult urology, neuro-urology and andrology holds camps in many districts in the State so that patients don't have to travel all the way to Bangalore for dialysis, said Dr. Venkatesh Krishnamoorthy, medical director, BKF.

There is a higher incidence of cancer today in Bangalore, according to doctors at government-owned Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology. The load on oncologists at Kidwai is tremendous, informed Dr. P S Prabhakaran, director.

The government of Karnataka has announced its expansion plans in oncology treatment in government hospitals considering the rise in number new patients in the State to 10,000. A Cobalt 16 machine has been installed at the Kidwai Institute of Oncology and the government has identified several peripheral medical centres for cancer care at Mandya and Gulbarga to help patients' access to radiation treatment in the district hospitals. In addition, the government has set up a full- fledged oncology department at the Victoria Hospital, Bangalore and KR Hospital, Mysore to help in faster access to treatment, said Ms. Nafees Fazal.