The Spirited Doctor

In 1959, he started Ruby Hall Clinic as a nursing home with two beds. Today, it stands tall with seven buildings housing 550 beds

Dr Keki B Grant (88) Chairman, Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune

Dr KB Grant was born in Tamil Nadu in November 1920 to Byram Dosabai, an auditor with the Railways. He completed his graduation from Wadia College, then went on to do his MBBS from Grant Medical College, Mumbai. He completed his education with a post-graduation degree in cardiology from Boston in Massachusetts.

Why an entrepreneur?

"I have never become an entrepreneur. Also I am not an entrepreneur at the moment," he says.

Before becoming an entrepreneur

After his MBBS from Grant Medical College and pursuing an MD, he started practising with physician Dr EH Cowaji at his clinic for a stipend of Rs 200 per month. A year after, he moved with Dr Cowaji to Jehangir Hospital (JH) in Pune. Simultaneously, he started teaching at Sassoon General Hospital. For specialisation, he then completed his post-graduation in cardiology at Mass General Hospital Boston in Massachusetts. After his studies, he resumed working at JH. After being associated with his mentor Dr Coyaji at JH for 14 years, who would have thought that simmering differences between the two would arise? "I wanted to use X-ray and advanced lab technologies at Jehangir and when I was not allowed to do that, I decided to start on my own," he recollects.

The first move

He had to decide on a place to start his practice. While in Pune, he had always been fascinated with Ruby Hall, the palatial home of former Governor-General David Sassoon's wife, Ruby. Even though it had changed many hands, Ruby Hall had retained its name. He decided to take the place on rent. At that time, it had only one consulting room and two beds. That was in 1959.

As practice picked up, he realised the need for a bigger place. He thought of buying RHC, but shortage of money was a hitch. Banks at that time refused loans as he did not have enough collateral. Then as luck would have it, CV Jog, MD, Bank of Maharashtra lent him Rs 5 lakh without a guarantee.

Over the years

At that time, the hospital had only one consulting room and two beds. The original Ruby Hall fell to the grinding teeth of bulldozers, during the expansion of the hospital. While all other buildings were subsequently added in the same premises, it was only the land for the nursing college, near the hospital, which was bought for Rs 27 lakh, 15 years back. Though the hospital retained its original name, the name of the trust managing it has changed. From Pune Medical Foundation, around five years back the name of the Trust was altered to Grant Medical Foundation.

With the passage of time, the hospital expanded. From 1959 to 1999, the hospital expanded from 2 to 300 beds. The major expansion, however, happened only in the late '90s, when another 250 beds were added. Says Dr Grant, "We took a quantum leap in 1999. From 10 ICU beds we expanded to have 130 beds and from 10 private rooms to 80 to keep pace with Pune's population explosion.”

Today, the 550-bed hospital has put Pune on the medical map of India, but the journey to build it to its present stature was not easy. It required constant defying of traditional beliefs and taking decisions fraught with risks. When patients could not afford Rs 50 to pay for an X-ray, Dr Grant without paying heed to protests from colleagues, bought a CT Scan for Rs 80 lakh and fixed Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 for a test.

Even his staff were constantly on their feet. He insisted constant care of each patient from the moment of their admission. Tales abound about how he would drop in the middle of the night to check whether patients were attended to with utmost care.

It was only when his nephew, Bhomi Bhote, joined as the CEO and his son Dr Purvez started shouldering some responsibility of the hospital, that Dr Grant has been a little relieved.

Contribution to healthcare

The hospital has always been on the forefront of technology. It offered Maharashtra's first cardiac CT. It has state-of-the-art facilities in cardiology, cardiac surgery, nephrology, urology, neurology, nuclear medicine centre and obesity-related surgery. Along with a group of hospitals, Ruby Hall Clinic has made a paradigm shift in Pune's healthcare by reversing its flow of traffic to Mumbai.

Fears and apprehensions

"I had no fear. As I treated patients with compassion and goodness, I was confident that they would come back," says he

Overcoming roadblocks

A series of large loans were continuously needed and at times, Dr Grant wondered whether he would be able to re-pay the huge loans taken to expand his dream. "We were paying 23 per cent interest on loans in those days," he sighs. Weekends meant trips to Satara, Kolhapur, or Meeraj for consultation that took 20 hours. "I used to leave the hospital by seven in the morning and reach home only by 11 in the night. The only motivation was building the hospital," he recalls.

Mistake made and lessons learnt

"Mistakes are made by every person and the lessons learnt should be acknowledged and corrected," says he.

Tips for entrepreneurship

"I went from strength to strength. I had no ambition for making money dishonestly," says he.

An entrepreneur that he admires in healthcare

He admires Dr William Worrall Mayo who set up MAYO Clinic.

Way Ahead

He has planned four multi-speciality hospitals in and around Pune in the next two years.