Apollo launches advanced network for pediatric care
Under the ‘Heal in India’ initiative, the government aims at positioning the country as a global hub for medical and wellness tourism
The Apollo Hospitals group on Wednesday launched a dedicated pediatric arm to provide “comprehensive care” for children at its major facilities, as its chairman Prathap C Reddy expressed hope that it will grow and become “synonymous with the country’s ‘Heal in India’ vision.
In a recorded message delivered on the occasion of the launch here, Reddy also said India today is ready for providing total and specialised care in sub-specialities.
Reddy in his address called it “another major milestone” for the Apollo group which began with the opening of its first hospital in Madras (now Chennai) in 1983.
Under the ‘Heal in India’ initiative, the government aims at positioning the country as a global hub for medical and wellness tourism.
The Apollo Hospitals group has a wide network of more than 40 hospitals with over 900 dedicated beds for pediatric care, and a pool of more than 400 specialised pediatricians providing services across more than 25 specialised pediatric care specialities.
Reddy in his message recalled how the child care services at Apollo began with heart care, followed by pediatric heart transplant, and said services have been provided to children not only from India, but over 50 other countries.
He emphasised that over 500 pediatric liver transplant surgeries have been conducted across the network of Apollo hospitals.
The Apollo Children’s services were formally jointly launched at a function held in Delhi by a group of children, some of whom were born at hospitals run by the Apollo group, or were treated at its facilities.
A spokesperson of the group said, the major centres of the group are located in seven metros including Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderbad, Ahmedabad and Chennai, besides facilities in various smaller cities.
Apollo Children’s will offer specialised interventions for complex medical and surgical pediatric conditions, including congenital disorders, gastrointestinal and liver disorders, neuro-developmntal disorders, cardiac conditions, renal disease, oncology and liver transplants, the group said.
Sibal also mentioned that with cutting-edge treatment, the “first successful child liver transplant was conducted at a Apollo hospital in 1998”, and how that child has now grown to become a doctor himself.
Cradle and other facilities for children run by Apollo will all now operate under the umbrella of Apollo Children’s, he said. PTI KND ANB ANB
