AFC Health Ltd, a concern of Active Fine Chemicals, has vowed to rein-in the outflow of a large amount of money from country's south-western zones through providing quality services to the heart patients.
"We have a conservative study which reveals a total of 300 heart patients visit different Indian hospitals in a month from the south-western districts of Bangladesh and we hope we can check this migration through providing quality services at affordable cost," Dr Husnayen Nanna, Chief Consultant and Cath Lab Director of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Khulna told The Financial Express in an interview recently.
On an average, 10 Bangladeshi patients get treatment from Fortis Escorts in India daily, he said. "The patients will now get such treatment here at affordable costs."
"We are now providing medical services to out-door heart patients only and the full operation of our hospital hopefully begins by the end of this month in Khulna," Dr Husnayen Nanna disclosed.
The hospital, the 66th outlet of Delhi-based Fortis Escorts Heart Institute will provide treatment to about 1,000 patients a month at 'affordable' costs.
The 42-bed hospital, the first of its kind in Bangladesh is well-equipped with CCU and e-ICU.
"We are going to introduce e-ICU facilities for the first time in Bangladesh," Mr Nanna said.
AFC Health has invested around Tk 500 million in the project and Fortis will manage and provide technical assistance to the hospital.
"Equipped with cutting-edge technology and a team of cardiac specialists, the centre will provide early diagnosis and prompt treatment riding on the medical instruments imported from USA and Germany,"
The country has huge demand for cardiac institutes as the number of cardiac patients is increasing rapidly, according to medical service providers.
"Local patients will now be able to get world-class treatment on their doorsteps," the Chief Consultant said, adding that the beds of the centre's intensive care unit will be electronically monitored by Fortis in Delhi.
The hospital will offer diagnostic services such as angiography to detect heart disorders as well as varied treatment options, including artificial pacemaker, coronary artery bypass, valve replacement and periphery bypass surgery, he said. The centre will provide treatment at the same cost as in Lab Aid and other cardiac hospitals in the country, the senior doctor said.
"Awareness build-up and follow-up of the patients are religiously important to us," Dr Husnayen Nanna said.
He said many patients are not serious after they are cured but the mission of the Khulna-based hospital will be to treat them equally even after the recovery.
Besides, the centre has also proposed to reimburse or take no charge for the last day of a patient's stay if he/she dies in hospital, he said. AFC Health also plans to set up such centres in Bogra, Comilla and Sylhet in near future, the Khulna-based hospital sources said.
Currently, Fortis operates 66 healthcare outlets in India, Singapore, Dubai, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.
Fortis Healthcare has more than 10,000 potential beds and approximately 280 diagnostic centres, employing more than 17,000.
Active Fine Chemicals is a chemical reagent and active pharmaceutical ingredients maker in the country. It got listed on Dhaka Stock Exchange in 2010. Â
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