THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 9 December 2006 — The Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), the premier corporate hospital of the state promoted mainly by Non-Resident Indians based in the Kingdom, is all set to open its offshore center in Jubail in the Eastern Province north of Dammam.
“We got permission for a hospital but we are starting a medical center to begin with,” said KIMS Chairman and Managing Director Dr. M.I. Sahadullah. “We have 50,000 square feet of space, a three-story building and there will be 100 staff members, including some 20 doctors. The launch is planned for February. The center with ten specialties will initially have only examination beds and emergency beds. But all diagnostic and therapeutic facilities will be available there. And we will get our own hospital constructed in a nearby area.”
KIMS, which opened its first offshore facility at Umm-Al-Hassan, Bahrain in 2004, is the first Indian hospital to get accredited by the Australian Council for Health Care Standards International.
“We have also started recruiting staff, from the Kingdom itself as much as possible. There will be Saudi representation by rule and we want to have Saudis in every area,” he said adding the center would offer ultramodern facilities at an affordable cost to all nationalities including people belonging to middle and low-income groups.
Sahadullah, who spent 26 years in Dammam, is revisiting the Kingdom with a mission. He wants to promote Kerala as a cost-effective and quality destination for health care tourism. India has set a target of $2 billion for the sector in a year.
“The most positive element is that Saudis put strong trust in Indian doctors and staff,” he said. “We can also offer facilities matching the US and European standards.”
Sahadullah is a member of the task force set up by the state government as well as the Confederation of Indian Industries’ Kerala Chapter to promote health care tourism.
They have decided to hold an international buyer-seller meeting called Kerala Medical Tourism Expo in February and to make it an annual event. Global players in health care insurance and travel and tour operators from the Middle East, Europe and the US will be invited to participate.
“Compare the costs. It is less than one-tenth of what you have to pay for similar treatments and facilities in the West,” he said. “The only thing is that we have to be more proactive, making the trip hassle-free for patients and their escorts by issuing visas freely and by improving connectivity,” he added.
Set amidst beautifully landscaped lush greenery, the flagship hospital, a world-class multi-specialty and tertiary care hospital, was started in 2002 with a paid-up capital of 500 million rupees.
With more than 34 specialties, KIMS also offers tailor-made packages for foreign visitors either for selective procedures or for health maintenance schemes. It is the only hospital in Kerala listed on the Medical Tourism Brochure and approved in the UAE for insurance companies to refer patients.
“We started the hospital here with 250 beds in the first phase. Within two years, it went up to 400 beds and a total built-up space of 325,000 sq. ft. Now, nearly 20 percent of patients come from abroad, mainly from the neighboring Maldives, Sri Lanka and Europe,” Sahadullah said.
The hospital received the state government recognition for earning maximum foreign exchange and for attracting most number of patients from overseas. KIMS also offers postgraduate level courses in at least 10 disciplines.
Most of the 750 investors of KIMS are NRIs. Among the 23 founder directors of the company, 15 are NRIs or ex-NRIs, including Ravi Pillai (Dammam), Ahmed Koya Mukhtar (Alkhobar), V. Radhakrishnan (Jeddah), K. Radhakrishnan (Alkhobar), T.C. Wilson (Jubail), Ajayachandran Nair (Riyadh), Asif Aboobacker Kunju (Dammam), Liyaqat Ali Khan (Jeddah) and Jayaram (Riyadh).
Sahadullah shared his idea of setting up a world-class hospital in Kerala with his friends in the Kingdom while working as a senior consultant physician at Saudi Aramco. Masters in business administration came handy for him to plan the business model.
“I had a chance to work in the administrative service while I was with Aramco and my company sponsored my two-year MBA course conducted by the University of Hull, UK, at Aramco,” he said.
After his postgraduation from the Trivandrum Medical College in general medicine, he took his MRCP and FRCP from Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and Royal College of Physicians of London.
“I was an active member of the Saudi Aramco Employees’ Association for several years. I served as its president from 1995 to 1997 and 1999 and 2000 organizing various recreational and athletic activities and entertainment. It also arranged tours for members and families,” he recollects his experience at Aramco.
As a physician who had put in so many years into the profession, he has a piece of advice to give: “Indians working in the Gulf are prone to heart diseases. I think it is high time that we took preventive checkups regularly.”
KIMS is also planning to go for listing on stock exchanges and public offerings, the volume of which is yet to be finalized. The public issue is meant for part-funding the expansion projects like an oncology center and multi-specialty hospital in the port city of Kochi.
“We are also starting medical centers in Doha, Muscat and the UAE. In fact, we have a license in Doha and we are looking for space. It will be within a year, Insha Allah,” he said. In Bahrain, KIMS has signed a contract to build a 50-bed hospital as a joint venture with the Kanoo Group.
KIMS is also planning to launch a holding company for Gulf operations with Bahrain as its base. “It would be a good opportunity for serious investors as this holding company will invest in various hospitals,” Sahadullah said.
