The Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals Group which has a major plan of launching 250 hospitals across the country is being forced to go slow on them due to a scarcity of qualified healthcare professionals in the country.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman of Apollo Hospitals Group said, “There is a shortage of 100,000 beds per year in the country. We have realised the necessity of building 250 super specialty hospitals but from where can I get skilled specialists and staff to run these hospitals?”
This factor led a four-month delay in the launch of Apollo’s hospital at Bhubaneshwar, which is now due to open in October. “We want to open 22 hospitals in the next 2 years. There are many investors who wish to invest in healthcare, and raising over Rs 10,000 crore for setting up 250 hospitals is not an issue but there is a shortage of qualified, skilled professionals in the country. India is supplying skilled professionals globally but there is a shortage in the country.”
Reddy said Apollo was on a plan to have a nursing college, a training institute for paramedics and an institute for training undergraduates at each of its hospitals.
{{/usCountry}}Reddy said Apollo was on a plan to have a nursing college, a training institute for paramedics and an institute for training undergraduates at each of its hospitals.
{{/usCountry}}Apollo is pushing for the government to grant infrastructure status to healthcare, which would enable it to borrow long-term capital from financial institutions, and also seek cheaper land and incentives to train talent. “If this is done, it can create direct employment of 2 million per year without the government investing for next 10 years,” Reddy said.