Hyderabad, December 14: Is the Telangana buzzword bothering healthcare providers in Hyderabad? This is the question many insiders in the healthcare industry are pondering over, pointing out how all major hospitals in Hyderabad are those founded by people of Andhra and Rayalaseema origin.
They say that the role of these people is crucial in creating the city’s identity of a healthcare hub and may take a beating if the anti-Andhra sentiment brewing currently is not managed.
Be it Care, Kims, Global, Star Hospital, Medwin, Apollo or Kamineni, all these hospitals were founded by people hailing from non-Telangana regions, who saw a huge business potential in the city of Hyderabad. The only major hospital in the city owned by a Telangana person is the Yashoda group.
Though entrepreneurs who have set shop here maintain that there would be no impact on the health care sector if a separate state is formed, they admit that they might consider setting up branches in Andhra region if Hyderabad is indeed made Telangana’s capital.
This has a reason. “Region plays a big role in choosing consultants and hospitals and people from Andhra form a good clientele for these hospitals. These hospitals could be worried about their customer base if the state is divided and Hyderabad goes to Telangana,” says an industry insider.
The feeling of uncertainty, they say, is not new. “The fear set in at least three years ago. While the current situation has only made us more uncertain, we were not too comfortable expanding in Hyderabad since 2006,” says a senior city-based doctor, who hails from Andhra region. Some others, however, counter that the city’s hospitals did see maximum expansion in the last couple of years and thus this argument doesn’t hold good.
“There will be no impact whatsoever. These are all service oriented organisations which people need. The question of state does not arise here,” said Dr B Bhaskar Rao, director, Kims.
Before these corporate hospitals started mushrooming, analysts say that apart from the hospitals in the public sector Osmania General Hospital and Gandhi Hospital it was the Hyderabad Nursing Home, started by a Telanganite, that was catering to most of the needs with the existing poor health care services till the 1980s and early 90s.
-Agencies