Philips to set up 30 sleep labs in Bangladesh

Mohammad Ali | Published: May 11, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00

Bidur Dhaul

Philips looks to make a significant amount of in vestment in the field of country's healthcare solution to sleep disorder, which causes poor performance at the workplaces and even different serious diseases.
Under the plan, the company will set up 30 sleep labs in Bangladesh within the next five years in collaboration with different hospitals; 10 of them are set to be established this year, its top official said.
"Respiratory care is relatively new in Bangladesh; we are bringing whole ranges of products for respiratory care; we are going to deploy 30 sleep labs to make sure the sleep apnoea patients are diagnosed and well treated," Bidur Dhaul, senior director, home healthcare solutions, Philips Healthcare, Philips India Ltd, told the FE in an interview recently.
Mr Dhaul, however, refrained from saying details about the amount of the investment in this connection.
Comparing with the general people, the patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) have more difficulties in concentration, learning new tasks and performing monotonous tasks, he said, adding that risk of their workplace accident also doubles.
OSA is a condition characterised by the repeated cessation of breathing during sleep.
Apart from the poor work performance, OSA also causes occupational accidents and road traffic accidents in the short term, and cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure and metabolic disturbances in the long term, he said.
Presenting a survey conducted by Nielsen Company several years back, Mr Dhaul showed that about 93 per cent of South Asians are deprived of sleep.
However, only two per cent of the people decide to go for treatment; 58 per cent people feel that their work suffers due to lack of sleep; and 11 per cent fall asleep at work, he said.
Though any survey is yet to be conducted specifically for Bangladesh, he said, the scenario might be closed to that in Bangladesh.
Stressing on the need for early identification and treatment of the problem, Mr Dhaul said that they are bringing whole ranges of products for respiratory care for both the homes and hospitals in Bangladesh, where respiratory care is relatively new.
Under its different programme in this connection, the company will train the people on how to use the sleep labs and the sleep apnoea devices, hold some sorts of awareness events including patient-camps, campaigning, media articles and advertisement, and educate the country's doctors about it.
Lab is the main infrastructure for diagnosis of sleep apnoea, and usage of the sleep apnoea device is the treatment of the problem, he said.
"We have identified Bangladesh as a strategic location," where the problem of sleep apnoea is under penetration, "That's why we moved fast here to diagnose the patients, ultimately benefitting the patients," he said.
Usually, obesity is very strongly co-linked with sleep apnoea, he added. It is caused mainly from taking first food, lack of exercise and drinking alcohol.
In a query about bringing the price level of the device (about Tk 30,000 for each) under control of the poor people, he said the company continues to innovate and find out the product under purchasing capacity especially for the financially constrained people.
In another query, he said that there are about 300 sleep labs deployed in India over a period of time. Philips will responsibly spread sleep science in Bangladesh, he added.
Netherlands-based Royal Philips, the mother company of Philips India, opened its office in Bangladesh in September of 2011 as its direct presence; earlier, its presence was through channels here.
Royal Philips of the Netherlands is a diversified technology company that focuses on improving people's lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of healthcare, consumer lifestyle and lighting.