Committed to Excellence

In 1990, he started with a 20-bed hospital. He recently rolled out the 400-bed Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital

Dr Vinay Aggarwal (56) Chairman & Managing Director, Pushpanjali Healthcare

Born in June 1952 in Delhi, he did his MBBS from Delhi’s Maulana Azad Medical College in 1974 and did one-year residency in medicine at Hindu Rao Hospital.

Why an entrepreneur?

The financial difficulties faced by him during his academic years and problems related in accessing (availability and affordability) basic medical services when his father was hospitalised for nine months in a general hospital to undergo surgical treatment for paraplegia in 1959, ignited the first flame of setting up a healthcare facility by becoming an entrepreneur. "Developing an affordable and efficient healthcare system by balancing preventive and curative measures and establishing an enduring doctor-patient relationship have been my vision," says he.

Before an entrepreneur

In 1976, he joined ESI Hospital, Delhi as General Duty Medical Officer to meet his first requirement of learning through practice and earning for self sustenance. He started his private family practice in the year 1980 at a 200-square-feet clinic set up with borrowed money from friends, which he continued till 1992. Simultaneously in 1985, he started the first professionally-run pathology centre at Krishna Nagar, a middle class residential colony in Trans Yammuna with an investment of Rs 5 lakh predominantly raised as a loan from a nationalised bank.

The first move

Having established his practice, he picked up a small plot of land at Pushpanjali, a locality at Vikas Marg, Delhi to set up a hospital of his dreams. "I handpicked a team of like-minded professionals and simultaneously on one hand carried on my practice while on the other hand started construction of my hospital on the land purchased," he says. Thus Pushpanjali Medical Centre (PMC) was started in 1990 as an intermediate care 20-bed hospital. By 1997, he created MM Diagnostic Private Limited, where five of his consultant friends joined as directors, thus kicking off the concept of 'Cooperative Corporate.' Clinical Diagnostic Centre, a one-stop shop for all diagnostic needs including pathology, biochemistry and radiology, was established under MM Diagnostics with an investment of around Rs 5 crore.

Over the years

PMC was a small step towards a long journey. In 2000, PMC was expanded to a 60-bed facility. An ever growing demand and a need to have a tertiary care facility for East Delhi and West UP region, plot measuring 3.5 acres was purchased from Ghaziabad Development Authorities to set up a 400-bed Pushpanjali Crosslay Hospital at Vaishali, Ghaziabad on NH-24. "This tertiary care facility with a built-up area of five lakh square feet is a project of approximately Rs 200 crore with over 30 per cent contribution from 70 strong like minded medical professionals and a testimony to my own philosophy of 'co-operative corporate' where everyone has the ownership and there is no poaching that helps to serve the community in line with our commitments and there expectations," says he. This project was commissioned in December, 2008.

Awards

He has been conferred with Dr BC Roy National Award, 'Distinguished Service Award' of DMA, Dr PN Bahl Community Service Award by Delhi Medical Association, Chikitsa Paras Award and IMA National President's special appreciation Award in recognition of the sincere and dedicated service to medical fraternity as Honorary Secretary General of IMA.

Fears and apprehension

“There was absolute no fear or apprehension what so ever in my crusade to entrepreneurship,” he claims.

Any formal degree in management?

"No, but my experiences taught me the basics of entrepreneurship where friendship and personal relations are outside the ambit of business. A formal degree in management does help in today's world where speed is the essence of life, such a formal education helps one to get clarified on basics of entrepreneurship. In our project PCH, we have picked up professionally trained executives with management background and hands on experience," says he.

Overcoming roadblocks

"There have been lots of challenges that we have been able to manage successfully. As such no roadblocks," says he.

Tips for entrepreneurship

“Setting up well defined goal, honesty, dedication, transparency and being ethical are my tips to entrepreneurship,” he says.

An entrepreneur that he admires in healthcare

"Dr Pratap Reddy, a medical doctor and pioneer in corporatising healthcare and establishing world class healthcare facilities within and outside India inspires me the most. Dr Vijay Agarwal who has been my senior during my medicine days have been my guiding force and mentor without whom I could have not been able to achieve my dreams," says he.

The road ahead

His dream is to establish PCH as a truly world class benchmark healthcare facility, having presence across North India with a chain of intermediate care hospitals and a total of 1,200 beds by 2015.