<div><em>In its quest to save on costs, Cygnus Hospitals does not invest in land and building. It operates on lease. The money it saves, it spends on quality and service. Starting from Haryana, the hospital group has spread to neighbouring Punjab and Rajasthan and plans to move into UP.Bihar and Madhya Pradesh in future. <strong>Dr Dinesh Batra</strong>, Director, Cygnus Hospitals talks to BW|Businessworld's <strong>Haider Ali Khan</strong></em></div><div> </div><div><strong>What does ‘Cygnus’ mean?</strong></div><div>The name ‘Cygnus’ is derived from a name of Constellation. As our name suggests, we at Cygnus are trying to create a star (hospital) in every district of northern India, especially in states of Haryana, Punjab and Delhi. And not only have we provided good infrastructure but, the good doctors.</div><div> </div><div><strong>You are mostly active in Haryana, why is it so?</strong></div><div>We started from Haryana as we belong to the state. And there is a huge need of tertiary care in the country. And we have extended our services in Punjab and Rajasthan also.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Are government policies in Haryana more favourable for you?</strong></div><div>We had interaction with the Chief Minister of Haryana and visited US and Canada with him. The government supported us and gave us an open window and single roof solutions to operate. The government has also asked for a proposal to work together in Public-Private partnership. We will submit the proposal within two to three months to the government of Haryana.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Is there any plan to expand in states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh?</strong></div><div>We have started from our neighbourhood states of Punjab and Rajasthan. And yes, in due course of time we will move towards states like UP, Bihar etc.</div><div> </div><div><strong>How many centres do you have at present?</strong></div><div>We have 10 centres, which are fully functional. By March 2016, it will be 15 and 50 by March 2018.</div><div> </div><div><strong>How are you going to provide affordable healthcare to the people?</strong></div><div>See, this is the case of mindset. We need Rs 1 crore investments per bed which means for a 100 bed hospital, we require Rs 100 crore. But, we only spend Rs 10 crore, as we do not invest in land and building. We operate on lease. All our hospitals are running on lease model.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Are you going to compromise on quality then?</strong></div><div>No, as we do not invest in asset building. The quality and service are what we focus upon.</div><div> </div><div><strong>What is the state of government hospitals, as you are also a doctor?</strong></div><div>There are two major issues with government hospitals. First, most of the doctors at government hospitals are assigned a task which they are not supposed to do like a surgeon is involved in National Health programme etc. The roles are not as per qualification.</div><div> </div><div>The second issue is overcrowding. There is huge dearth of doctors in our country. A doctor has to look after 500 patients in a day; as a result they are not being able to do the justice with the patients. We also have lack of infrastructure like cardio care and trauma centres in government hospitals.</div><div> </div><div><strong>Are you helping in Skill India initiative?</strong></div><div>We are definitely involved in skilling of people. We have a tie-up with IMS Health, and students from Jammu and Kashmir are trained under it, in lab technology.</div><div> </div><div><strong>What is the future of Telemedicine in India?</strong></div><div>We will be able to tell only when we will start this service. After three months from now, I will be able to disclose as it is under experimental stages.</div>
