Fortis Healthcare, the second largest healthcare chain in India, is now scouting for prospective hospitals in the small and medium segment for acquisition. As part of its growth efforts, the healthcare major is planning to increase its current bed strength from 3,000 to 6,000 beds by 2012, taking the total number of hospitals under the Fortis umbrella from the current 29 to 40 during this period.
Its maiden entry into Karnataka has come through an acquisition mode via a 66 percent stake in Lalitha Healthcare which is the parent company of the erstwhile Apollo RM Hospital in Bangalore.
Under the new management, the hospital has been rechristened as Fortis Hospital, Seshadripuram. It will be repositioned as a complete multi-specialty neighbourhood healthcare facility providing medical care at secondary level. For Fortis this is the second network hospital in southern India, after the acquisition of a 48.83 per cent interest in Malar Hospital, Chennai in February 2008. The Bangalore facility which has a renal care focus will now provide advanced care in this segment in addition to General Surgery, Orthopaedics and Trauma, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Psychiatry, General Medicine, Paediatrics amongst others. It is also envisaged to increase its bed strength to 200.
The southern region has a developed healthcare market and is further supported by the presence of over 50 percent of the medical colleges in the country having a presence here. Our foray into Karnataka through a spoke model will see us adding one more hub centres here. We will also continue to expand our presence in south, stated Shivinder Mohan Singh, Managing Director, Fortis Healthcare.
While it is estimated that it will require $500 million for its 6,000 bed capacity via Greenfield or managed-owned facilities, Fortis in early April filed with SEBI to go for a Rights Issue to raise Rs 1,000 crore, he added.
The healthcare major is looking at a hub and spoke across metros. It plans to introduce Home Care services right at the patient's doorstep.
The New Delhi-based Fortis Hospital is in the process of setting up a 1,000 bed 'Medicity' at Gurgaon which will focus on cancer, trauma and paediatrics to fill the gap of specialized, advanced care in the tertiary segment, stated the Fortis chief.