Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute has tied up with the Bangalore based Baptist Hospital to launch the 'Baptist Heart Centre' a specialised heart facility which inaugurated by Karnataka governor TN Chaturvedi. The Baptist Hospital, which is a leading healthcare institution, is also a centre for postgraduate teaching for doctors besides being a premier nursing education centre.

“The association is an initiative from Wockhardt Hospital to contribute it back to society and take its expertise of high tech quality focussed heart treatment to the community through a community hospital,” said Vishal Bali, general manager, Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute.

Cardiologists from Wockhardt will provide the services for cardiac emergencies admitted at Baptist Heart Centre.

Describing the services of the centre Dr. Ranganath Nayak, chief cardiologist, Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute said, “The Heart Centre will provide the facilities of an intensive coronary care unit (ICCU), echocardiography and stress test besides consultation with cardiologists there will be a continuous knowledge exchange for the staff of the heart centre from Wockhardt Hospital.” The facilities have already been installed at the centre.

Explaining the concept of the Heart Centre, Dr. Santosh Benjamin, CEO Baptist Hospital said, “There was an demand from the from the community to expand the services of the hospital for heart treatment, it is a difficult task for a community hospital to acquire the expertise and technology in this speciality. Wockhardt came forward to facilitate both making the centre a reality. Our patients will benefit from the centre.”

More than 350 patients across different sections of the society and various specialities undergo treatment at the Baptist Hospital every day and the hospital has 150 beds.

The association with Wockhardt will play a pivotal role in combating the rampant rise of heart diseases through these partnerships we can not only reach the message of prevention to a wider section of the population but also provide timely and medical assistance to heart attack victims, said Dr. Nayak.

The Wockhardt cardiology team will also participate in the teaching programmes for the doctors at the Baptist Hospital.

Incidentally, Wockhardt Hospital and Heart Institute has been an associate hospital with Harvard Medical International in India and treats more than 20,000 heart patients every year. Since its inception here in Bangalore in 1989, it has been treating all sorts of heart related problems from newborns to old people. Bali said that the hospital gives structure to a 30 year old tradition of integrated and innovative care built by Wockhardt Ltd., which is India's leading transnational pharmaceutical and health care company.

A long-standing reputation for cardiovascular excellence along with premier diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities enables Wockhardt to treat the most complex and high-risk cardiac cases. This has resulted in the hospital to be recognised as a centre for cardiac care not only for patients in India but abroad, informed Bali.

More than 5,000 patients have undergone heart surgeries and interventional cardiac procedures like coronary angiograms and angioplasties every year, added Bali.