Apollo Hospitals to add over 2,000 beds in next three-year expansion plan

Company plans speciality beds for cardiology & cancer, will expand to new cities

After crossing a target of 10,000 beds capacity, Apollo Hospitals is gearing for the next stage of an expansion plan that would see an addition of around 2,000 beds. The hospital chain is in the final stage of its current three-year expansion plan, which targeted to add 2,500 beds.

"I think Apollo doesn't sleep. It works round the clock and we are completing the three-year plan of adding 2,500 beds now, which will be completed with the proton centre. But we will have another three-year plan. We need more beds because of the huge problem of NCDs (non-communicable diseases)," said Prathap C Reddy, executive chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group.

In the next stage, the company would have speciality beds for cardiology and cancer, would expand to other cities where it does not have the presence and also to increase the beds in cities where it is already present in, he said.

"Investment for the present expansion is completely covered. When it comes for the next expansion, people are willing to give us money, they trust us," added Reddy. He was speaking on the sidelines of launching Apollo Memory and Apollo Headache and Migraine Clinics, set up in its hospital in Chennai.

Read full News go on- .business-standard.com

Sugar may be the new cholesterol!

AHMEDABAD: Leading cardiologists from across Delhi and India debated how 'sugar might be the new cholesterol' for people at risk of heart disease, as any excess amount consumed is converted to fat! Dr G R Kane, a senior cardiologist from Hinduja Hospital, said that while people are mindful of the fact that consuming high-fat food may increase cholesterol levels, there is little awareness about the adverse impact of eating excess sugar. "Sugar is still associated with diabetes but it gets directly converted to fat. There needs to be awareness about consuming sugar in moderation," Kane said.

Read Full News Sources- Times of India

Sugar and many other controversial factors affecting heart health and cardiac disease treatment were discussed by experts at 'national debate' 2017 which revived a similar exercise undertaken by leading physicians of Gujarat — Dr Harshad Gandhi, Dr Jyotindra Bhatt, and Dr Premal Thakore — in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The debate was revived by course co-ordinators, cardiologists Dr Sameer Dani, Dr Sunil Thanvi, and Dr Rashmit Pandya.