Question: What green building concepts should a nursing home follow, given the cost and time constraint that such projects have?
– Dr Mohan, Bellary
| Tarun Katiyar |
Answer: Hospitals that have introduced the green building concepts have shown and proved how much money can be saved by implementing these initiatives.
The green initiatives not only help in saving money, but also in creating a more sustainable environment. The savings in money come in the form of reduced energy (30-40 per cent) use.Iit facilitates reduced consumption of electricity and water and creates an environment that allows for reuse of material, thereby reducing wastage.
You can also go for optimal use of sewage treatment plant wherein recycled water is used for flushing, irrigation, HVAC cooling towers etc. Rainwater harvesting, ringwells, low flow plumbing fixtures, automatic sensors for urinals etc. also helps to reduce water usage by around 20-30 per cent.
Window to wall ratio should not be more than 25-30 per cent of the room area. Use of UPVC windows result in reduction of room temperature by allowing diffused light and not the heat. Use of solar power will take care of general lighting in the hospital etc.
Question: What are the land requirements for a 50-bed hospital in a small town like Hosur?
– Dr Rajiv, Hosur
Answer: Any hospital needs to be built on a non-agricultural land, the most important criteria for running a commercial activity. You also need to highlight important points of your healthcare set up after studying the requirements of the society, facilities provided by the neighbouring hospitals etc. Kindly describe how your healthcare facility would be different from the competitors.
Seek advice from an architect to verify the construction price.This will help in recognising the range and ability of your hospital along with the construction rates. Give a brief idea about your marketing plan, operating methods, rivals, projected balance sheet and other monetary information. Most importantly, your hospital’s SWOT analysis should be a part of your plan.
The land should be bought considering the following things in mind: select the site as per Vastushastra, accessibility, closeness to the catchment area you are targeting, connectivity, SWOT analysis of the location and the cost.
Question: We want to start a 200-bed hospital and are on the lookout for funds. Could you please tell us the different options for borrowing investment from investors?
– Dr Krishna, Trichy
Answer: Fund arrangement for multi-speciality hospital is a tedious task for the reason that the investors need to be very sure about the success of the project. There are a number of instances where without proper planning and huge unplanned investments, projects have failed to deliver. This has resulted in either projects duration getting prolonged or the revenue sharing issue crops up between the promoter and investors.
The different options one can have while raising funds are: joint venture (JV) options, term loans from banks, DIH model (Department in Hospital), private equity etc. JV is the preferred option as there is minimisation of risk, the marketing/finance is taken care of by both the parties thereby reducing burden on the single owner.
A market feasibility report will tell you whether it is feasible to start with 200 beds at once or should you go phasewise (100+100). Also, it is usually done along with financial feasibility which is also a bankable document if you are going for any loans or financial support to bankers or investors.
A detailed project report should be prepared which ideally will include the following: market research, profile of the locality, existing players, demand and supply of the services and financial details of the project such as total cost of the project, ROI, break even, debt-equity etc. With this detailed report, investors can be approached on various business models and this is the first step towards fund raising.
Question: I am an OBG consultant with private practice in Ahmedabad since 19 years. I want to start a new hospital for women along with few colleagues but do not know how to go about it. First, I want to know the feasibility of the project but have no idea on how to put it on paper. Can you guide me regarding the initial planning process, and what to do if we want your professional help?
– Dr Jayashree, Ahmedabad
Answer: As with any project, a detailed market and financial feasibility is the first step to determine the success of the project. This is more so if you are thinking of a specialised centre such as a ‘Mother & Child’ centre.
Any single speciality centre is like a standalone business model which does not have multiple sources of income. Hence, in order to understand the viability of the business model, a detailed feasibility in terms of both market research and financial study needs to be carried out.
Question: We are planning to open a diagnostic centre in Chennai. Do we need to do a market survey and feasibility study? Kindly advice.
– Chandrasekhar, Chennai
Answer: A diagnostic centre requires in-depth survey of the regions wherein the patients can come from. This is because most of the times it is the physicians who refer the cases to the centre and not much of walk-in happens.
Conducting a market feasibility/ marketing research early in the project stage can provide a ‘reality check’ on your idea as well as help define your hospital services to ensure its appeal for the patients.
The market survey involves detailed feasibility in terms of the primary and secondary catchment area, number of hospitals and clinics nearby, availability of doctors, facility mix and service mix of the hospitals/ polyclinics/ nursing homes, existing corporate companies in the vicinity, total population of different zones/localities of the city (if land is not identified yet) etc.
As the entire project’s success is based on the outcome of the report, we strongly believe that a detailed survey is of prime importance for any project. It is better to have a business forecast than to suffer a loss.
Readers can send in their questions or feedback to us at email: tarun.faq@gmail.com