Fortis to set up hospitals in smaller towns and cities

Fortis Healthcare today announced that it would set up a second brand of hospitals aimed at smaller towns and cities, with a target of 25 hospitals in three years. This would mark a decade since it started its hospital chain with the first hospital at Mohali.

The company said, to mark the occasion, it would offer 10 free surgeries at each network hospital adding up to 500 free surgeries a year.

The company is also launching a nation-wide  ''Mother & Child'' programme for the poor under the aegis of the Fortis Foundation.

This initiative would support the efforts of the government to improve infant and maternal mortality rates (IMR & MMR). This would also increase societal awareness to alleviate the issues faced by the girl child, thereby contributing to an improvement in the overall girl child ratio.

According to reports, Shivinder Mohan Singh Fortis Healthcare (India) MD  said that they could not have imagined then that, 10 years along the line, Fortis would grow to become a pan-India network, with over 50 hospitals and plans for several more.

Reports further quoted him as saying that Fortis would continue to focus on making reliable and affordable healthcare accessible to all.

Reports also said Singh announced that Fortis was interested in entering the field of medical education in India, but the existing policies were preventing it from making a foray into the sector.