UAE-based VPS Healthcare, which forayed into India last year with the acquisition of Lakeshore Hospital in Kochi, recently acquired majority stakes in NCR-based Rockland Hospitals. Shamsheer Vayalil, Managing Director, VPS Healthcare, shares more about the groups ambitious expansion plans in India, its plans to transform the healthcare sector and more, in an interaction with Lakshmipriya Nair
VPS Healthcare is on a rapid expansion spree. You have recently acquired stakes in two hospitals, i.e. Lakeshore Hospital and Rockland Hospitals. What are your plans and strategies for the growth of these hospitals?
A team of external and internal experts has been set up to determine strategy and the way forward. Keeping in line with our organisation’s vision, we will position VPS Lakeshore Hospital and Rockland Hospitals as the preferred choices of healthcare across the country.
There were reports about VPS Healthcare looking to acquire LH Hiranandani Hospital in Mumbai. Is that in the offing as well?
Confidentiality agreement prohibits us from discussing anything at present. We will keep you and the public informed about this in due course.
What are the unique opportunities in the Indian healthcare sector that VPS Healthcare is looking to tap?
India has about 1.3 million hospital beds, which translate into ten beds per 10,000 people, against a global average of 29 beds and only 6.5 physicians per 10,000 people as compared to a global average of 14.2. Leading private hospital chains account for only about 35,000 of the 1.3 million hospital beds in the country; similarly organised players account for less than 15 per cent of the standalone diagnostics space in the country.
Over 60 per cent of beds are under government and trust-run centres. These centres have been the back – bone of healthcare delivery and leading institutes like PGI and AIIMS continue to remain key referral centres for all critical ailments. However, government facilities are stretched on resources – overloaded and dated medical infrastructure, over-worked doctors and support staff, and long waiting times, leaving the industry ripe for consolidation. These reasons combined with the fact that over 20 per cent of the global disease burden, exploding epidemic of non – communicable disease and ever increasing gap in providing quality healthcare, India became a natural choice for our expansion.
We will introduce sub-specialised services across our various hospitals to lessen the burden on government hospitals and provide faster treatment to patients, which would ensure better management of any ailments.
Why have you chosen the brownfield route to expansion? Any plans to commence a greenfield hospital?
VPS wanted to have a presence in the NCR and Rockland was the most sizeable project that met our standards and vision of expansion within a given period of time. The size of the project also enabled us to mark our presence in the NCR without going the greenfield way of expansion. Had we gone for a greenfield project, it would have taken us around three to four years to build up such a capacity and sizeable operations. Moreover, it would have been a challenge to get such sizeable properties at such strategic locations. It is too early to comment about any plans to commence a greenfield hospital. But if something comes up in the future, we will keep you and the public informed.
What are your investment plans for the Indian market in the next three years? How will these funds be raised?
VPS Lakeshore is already undergoing expansion and we also have a couple of upcoming projects in South and West India. In the short run, we intend to reach bed strength of 2,500 in India, which eventually will be doubled with a sizeable number of beds upcoming in the Northern region of the country.
What are the differentiators that VPS Healthcare can bring to India’s healthcare sector?
The major differentiator is going to be the quality of services that will be provided at our various hospitals. VPS is very particular about the quality of treatment and services we provide, which is evident from the fact that VPS is one of the largest JCI-accredited healthcare groups in the GCC Region. We will introduce and maintain the same quality standards across our Indian hospitals too.