The new hospital in Bangalore marks ten years of your presence here. It’s been a long journey form 2004 -2014. How has it been?
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Tufan Ghosh
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Columbia Asia Hospitals is the only hospital chain to enter India through 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) route. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Columbia Asia’s first hospital in India commenced operations in 2005 in Hebbal, Bangalore. This is our tenth year in India and we will shortly be opening our tenth facility in India here in Bangalore itself.
The Columbia Asia ‘model hospitals’ are the result of a 15-year development effort that brings together ‘best care’ with ‘best technology’ practices, all under one roof. Our model is rapidly being replicated throughout Asia and in India. In a short span of time our model has proven to be effective and efficient. Out of the nine hospitals we have today, five of our hospitals have been accredited by NABH, while for the others the process is underway. Over these ten years we have also striven very hard to deliver excellence in healthcare. We are glad that today we are the preferred choice of healthcare services for our communities.
Our philosophy over the years has been that patients are the centre of our attention and their convenience and comfort is our No.1 priority. Our patients and customers also appreciate our flat and transparent pricing structure.
What sets us apart is the quality of people we have and the organisational focus on training and development. Our employees are passionate about what they do and have the spirit to serve. When you meet a Columbia Asian, you’ll be greeted with a smile and a warm sense of pride.
What is the strength of Columbia Asia’s network in India at present? Can you give us a sense of the size of the company?
We are in the tenth year of operations in India and in these past nine years, we have started nine hospitals and the hospital in Whitefield – Bangalore is the tenth.
We are now present in Bangalore, Delhi-NCR, Patiala, Pune, Kolkata and Mysore. We will also be starting our eleventh hospital in Ahmedabad very soon.
Most of your projects are greenfield projects. This is radically different from the growth path of the other private hospital groups who prefer acquisitions or JVs and go for brownfield projects. Your comments.
The Columbia Asia model has evolved after more than a decade of research. We follow certain guidelines for hospital design and layout and as a result we do tend to prefer greenfield projects. However, we have also undertaken a few brownfield projects. This is dictated by the size, availability of land and the market. We follow standard specifications with respect to measurements for various areas such as OPD, clinics and for various modalities like chemotherapy, dialysis, endoscopy, etc. In no case do we compromise on these standards. We are very particular about ensuring optimal width for corridors, staircases and fire exits. A brownfield building that fulfils these requirements does make it to the consideration set. I must mention here that Columbia Asia Hospital – Whitefield l is a brownfield project.
Do you feel you have consolidated your position at Bangalore or there are more projects in pipeline? In Karnataka, are you looking at other locations?
Our hospital in Whitefield will be the fourth unit in Bangalore and fifth in Karnataka. We do have an active interest in setting up more hospitals in Bangalore as well as Karnataka.
Was there any learning from other hospitals that helped in setting up the new hospital? How is the Whitefield hospital different from the other existing hospitals in Bangalore?
We have garnered plentiful learnings during our journey in India and more importantly, put the same into practice. This is evident in the form of optimisation of the infrastructure and medical programmes in Whitefield. Even for the existing ones we have actively worked towards capability building and additions to medical programmes wherever required. Over the years, Columbia Asia has become synonymous with highest standards of clinical expertise and care. The same levels of service would be available at Columbia Asia Hospital – Whitefield from day one.
Columbia Asia Hospital -Whitefield has been designed specifically keeping in mind the needs of the community with services and specialities to cater to the needs of the corporate houses, families and in general population living in the area.