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The Manipal group of hospitals is shutting down its establishment at Rajarajeshwarinagar due to financial constraints.

 
A notice on the employee notice board, (a copy of which is with Bangalore Mirror), said, “...In view of the hospital not doing well, it is not economically viable to continue with the running of the hospital.”
 
Though Maoists forced the chain to shut down its facilities in Nepal in 2009, this is the first time the hospital is being forced to down its shutters in India.
 
“We should close in about a month’s time. The group is looking to transfer the employees working in the hospital to different units of the company. Most employees have already been given their letters,” said a nursing staff in the hospital.
 
The 120-bed hospital is one of the four super speciality hospitals run by the Manipal group in the city. With over 50 consultants in over 19 streams and fully equipped ICUs, it also boasted of providing homecare services. The other three Manipal hospitals in the city are in Jayanagar, Malleswaram and Old Airport Road.
 
The notice, that went up on February 16, has the staff in a panic despite the group’s assurance to place them elsewhere.
 
“A junior doctor asked me to recommend more people to visit the hospital so that it can stay open,” a patient told Bangalore Mirror.
 
 
Medical tourism hub
“Bangalore is among the top five destinations in the country for medical tourism. I am not aware of Manipal closing down its facility at Rajarajeshwarinagar, but there will always be space for more super specialty hospitals,” says Dr Kishore Murthy, director, Institute of Health Management and Research which supplies administrators to hospitals.
 
In the last decade, India has grown phenomenally as a medical tourist destination. The estimated annual growth is pegged at 30 per cent every year and the industry is expected to touch Rs 9,500 crore by 2015, according to figures quoted by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India. More than 1.8 lakh foreigners visit India every year for medical reasons.
 
But for Manipal hospital in Rajarajeshwarinagar, the competition was intense. There are some eight hospitals around it, each with more than 150 beds. These apart, there are also around 200 smaller nursing homes.
 
“The medical industry gets no sops from the government either in terms of land, water or energy. Our power bills are about 30 per cent of our overheads. I can’t turn off the air-conditioning if I have just one patient in the ICU. Despite the boom in medical tourism, the government has not extended any sops. So unless we have a very strong business model, we will collapse,” said a top neurosurgeon in Bangalore.
 
Repeated calls to Rajan Padukone, CEO of Manipal group of hospitals, went unanswered while Dr H S Ballal, group medical director, remained unreachable. The hospital spokesperson confirmed that the group would be shutting down the facility in a couple of months, but refused to elaborate.