Private hospitals to boost cancer care, beds count

'Cancer incidence is projected to increase by 12.8 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020, necessitating more dedicated cancer treatment centres and specialised beds.'

IMAGE: The Apollo hospital building in New Delhi. Photograph: Kind courtesy Adnan Abidi/Reuters

India's leading private hospitals plan to make oncology a focus area and increase their bed capacity in FY26 after registering stable growth in the average revenue per occupied bed (ARPOB) per day in the past nine months (9MFY25).

Apollo Hospitals Enterprise plans significant capacity additions, with the company expected to commission over 1,700 beds over the next two financial years.

"We expect commissioning of these beds across Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Gurgaon, and Delhi, of which we will part operationalise in FY26 and fully by FY27.

"These additions are a mix of asset acquisitions, brownfield and greenfield expansion," said Krishnan Akhileswaran, Group Chief Financial Officer, Apollo Hospitals.

In its Q3FY25 investor presentation, Max Healthcare revealed that it sought to add approximately 1,464 beds in FY26.

Similarly, Fortis Healthcare is looking to operationalise over 400 beds in the next financial year.

Small hospital chains too are looking at an expansion drive in FY26, driven by increasing healthcare demand, rising disease burden, and expanding healthcare infrastructure in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

Smaller hospital networks are expected to expand their presence, particularly in specialised care segments, amid the government's continued focus on Ayushman Bharat and private sector investments, said Shuchin Bajaj, founder-director, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals.

"With continued investment in advanced medical technology and skilled healthcare professionals, small hospital chains will play a crucial role in addressing India's evolving healthcare needs in FY26 and beyond," he said.

Oncology a key area of growth

"Cancer incidence is projected to increase by 12.8 per cent by 2025 compared with 2020, necessitating more dedicated cancer treatment centres and specialised beds," Bajaj said, adding that the demand for cancer beds, radiation therapy units, and chemotherapy facilities is expected to surge, with hospitals focusing on improving accessibility and affordability of cancer care.

Ujala Cygnus witnessed a steady increase in cancer treatment capacity, with the addition of approximately 300 cancer beds in 2025 compared with 2024.

"Apart from that, we are also planning to add four linear accelerators or LINAC machines to treat cancer," he said.

Max Healthcare is looking at increased oncology revenues, with radiation oncology bunkers expected to come on stream in its facilities in Lucknow and Dwarka in FY26, Abhay Soi, chairman and managing director, Max Healthcare stated in the company's Q3FY25 earnings call.

Recently, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the establishment of day-care cancer centres (DCCCs) in over 740 district hospitals across India, including 200 in FY26.

"This expansion reflects the growing need for specialised oncology services, ensuring that patients in underserved regions receive timely and quality treatment," Bajaj said.

Akhileshwaran, however, said Apollo did not have separate allocations for cancer beds in any of its facilities, asserting that they are integral to its care programmes, with all its facilities already having a strong oncology programme.

"Over the past few years, Apollo has invested significantly in clinical programmes and advanced technologies in oncology, leading to high-teen growth in the segment, positively impacting overall ARPOB," he added.

ARPOB outlook for medium-term

The drive to expand bed capacity also comes as hospitals predict a steady growth in ARPOB figures for FY25.

For Apollo, the additions come on the back of the company registering a 4.9 per cent year-to-date (YTD) rise in ARPOB per day for 9MFY25.

Analysts predict the ARPOB growth to sustain at the same rate for the entire FY25.

"With continued investment in tertiary and quaternary care, Apollo expects to sustain current ARPOB levels for the year," Akhileshwaran said.

Similarly, Aster DM and Fortis Healthcare saw a 12 per cent and 9.5 per cent increase in ARPOB per day, respectively for the same period, with growth in cardiac, neurology, and oncology treatments being a major reason.

Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO), Fortis Healthcare said that a better case mix, involving high-ticket items such as bone marrow transplants had led to high growth.

"We would expect that this kind of trend will persist for some more time, and we should see similar ARPOB going into the next couple of quarters," he stated in an earnings call for the December quarter.

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