Escorts sees low patient inflow

Just a handful of patients can be seen at the reception of the Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre in south Delhi, one of the country's most popular destinations for cardiac care. The waiting time for appointments with the doctors has come down even as the lack of crowds is unmistakable.

Till some months ago, when several doctors led by Naresh Trehan left the hospital, the same area used to resemble a railway station -- such was the rush. It was a regular feature for patients to wait a couple of hours before the appointment with the doctors came through.

Shivinder Mohan Singh, managing director of Fortis Healthcare which acquired the hospital from Escorts Ltd for Rs 585 crore (Rs 5.85 billion) in 2005, insists this only shows the efficiency of the doctors.

"The maximum waiting time for patients has come down drastically due to the management systems we have introduced," he adds.

But the buzz in the healthcare industry is different. Privately, doctors, who left with Trehan talk about the patient traffic they have diverted from the Escorts Heart Institute. The world over, patients connect with particular doctors and tend to follow them from one hospital to the other.

"Since the core team of Escorts Heart Institute had moved out after Fortis took over that institution, this is natural," says a healthcare analyst.

Singh admits occupancy had taken a dip but adds that the numbers are robust

once again. "The Escorts Heart Institute has been doing well after an initial decline in the occupancy rate. Today, our occupancy rate is about 80 per cent. We will find increased patient inflow in the coming months due to the 'tactful' changes made at the management level," he says.

Ongoing renovation, he adds, will take the hospital's bed strength from 250 to 330.

Meanwhile, Fortis has decided to add another half a dozen specialties to the hospital. While Singh's detractors say this has been done to check the decline in occupancy rates, he says it is a part of the original growth strategy for the hospital.

"We are not diluting the cardiac care focus. Instead, we are upgrading the facilities, making them more effective and thereby offering comprehensive heart care," he says.

Thus, the outpatient department of Escorts, which was earlier solely focused on cardiac patients, will now have doctors from other specialties too.

"Cardiac patients often have multiple problems. Before we took over, the hospital did not have the ability to take care of such patients. As part of the overall strategy, we are enhancing the OPD into multi-specialty OPD," Singh says, adding: "The robot facility at Escorts, currently used only for cardiac patients, will be made available for other patients as well."

Singh says this will maximise the value for patients. His detractors, however, see this as a desperate attempt for survival.