Siddhartha Hospital Fusion of Hospital & Hospitality
Equipped with state-of-the-art-technology and one of its kind hospitality services, Siddhartha Hospital verges on the border line of a star hotel and a hospital.
These days a hospital is not only for providing health services but it is becoming a part of a broader hospitality industry. In Nepal , this concept is being put into practice by Siddhartha Hospital which is shifting from the crowded Putali Sadak to the calm and quiet environment of Balaju at the base of Raniban sprawling across 16 ropanis of land.
The project is, however, delayed by three years and it is owing to the country’s political situation. However, Narayan Bajaj, chairman of the company, also says that it was due to the project’s magnitude which required frequent restructuring of the finance much to the irritation of the banks as well as the borrower. Promoted by eight investors including Narayan Bajaj (Chartered Accountant), Pawan Agrawal (businessman), Umesh Shrestha (educationist) and N. Jain (industrialist), Siddhartha Hospital had technical collaboration with the Apollo Hospital and is now working on collaborations with a German University and big regional hospital groups from Southeast Asia very soon.
Planned for 350 beds, the hospital now has infrastructure for 200 beds with Rs. 420 million invested already. However, only 100 beds will be operational by Dashain in the first phase. Equipped with state-of-the-art-technology and one of its kind hospitality services, Siddhartha Hospital verges on the border line of a star hotel and a hospital.
According to Dr. Satish Bajaj, CEO of the company, the objective is to emulate the examples of Delhi and Bangkok which are receiving a large number of health tourists from different parts of the world.
“This hospital is one of a kind”, boasts Dr. Bajaj. One of the distinguishing features is the critical care area facility with a proper monitoring system. Doctors will be present round the clock along with consultants to keep an eye on every patient. It also plans to bring in visiting doctors from the German university on a rotation basis, thus helping in technology transfer. The association was made easier because Dr. Bajaj was himself educated in the German university.
The Radiology department will provide A-Z facilities including 64 slice CT Scan, MRI, Colour Doppler, Ultrasound and Angiography. There would be separate reception areas for different departments and patients’ reports will be prepared within 30 minutes. A helpline on every floor, the hospital will be well guarded by tight security through CCTV cameras placed on every corner of the hospital. Moreover, taking into consideration the recent vandalism that took place in the Everest Nursing Home, Siddhartha hospital has created a space for a police station within its premises. Specialised operation theatres are created for all level of operations. Beds are isolated for severe communicable diseases. There would be a VVIP treatment room especially designed for elite personalities.
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Currently, there are 80 staff including nurses and the hospital targets to increase it to above 150 soon once all wards come to operation. The number of doctors working in the OPD is 30 at present. To bring about more transparency in the relation between the doctors and medical representatives (MR), the hospital has introduced a new concept. The MR must visit the front office manager before getting an appointment with the doctor. This will certainly help in eradicating the trend of MR unduly influencing doctors, Dr. Bajaj hopes. It also ensures the prescription of standardised medicine to patient, he says.
To give a touch of hospitality to the hospital, it has created amenities for the visitors as well. There would be a bouquet shop, gift shop, book shop and saloon in addition to a restaurant so that the visitors need not go out for these facilities. Moreover, there would be an executive dinning hall. There will be pay-phones on every corner of the hospital with the pay cards available from the counter. The hospital also plans to have a medical library for journalists where there would be space also for discussion, press conference and meeting with hospital spokesperson.
In another facility offered, the patients can check their health reports on the internet. However, it is yet to be made available as the data security system is still being worked on.
