Oman health: Apollo Hospital opens in Muscat

Muscat: Oman needs more access to hospitals, said Dr Preetha Reddy, executive vice-chairperson of the Apollo Hospitals Group.
“Oman doesn’t require more hospitals but the access should be greater,” Reddy told the Times of Oman (TOO) on the sidelines of the opening of their first Apollo Hospital in Oman and also the first in the Middle East.
“For that the insurance system should be more streamlined; and can be made even better and exciting, while hospital system should be upgraded,” she said while speaking about the health sector in Oman.
She added that there should be some assistance extended to find trained manpower and Oman needs more doctors and nurses, whether it is nationals or expats but that it should be available in a consistent manner.
According to her, Oman should have enough hospitals between the private and public category in the health sector of Oman.
She also agreed that with the support of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Oman’s health sector has come a long way.
“I came to Oman after a long time and the changes in the field are immense and the decision of His Majesty to give Omani citizens high-end healthcare has brought about that change,” she asserted.
“They upgraded the public health system to a large extend and the decision to allow the private health sector to establish was a great move,” Reddy added.
She also said the Apollo group would like to work in the health sector as a partner.
“We would like to work in the health sector as a partner and we will provide whatever needs to be done for the people of Oman,” Reddy said. “The level of trust with Apollo as a brand is very high because we stand for affordable, accountable care and the outcome have been very good,” she added.
Reddy also appreciated the support of the ministry in establishing the new Apollo Hospital in Muscat.
“I can promise the people of Oman whatever treatments are available globally for any disease,” Reddy said.
She also pointed out that the number of patients travelling from Oman to India, especially to Apollo hospitals in India, is increasing and this shows the trust of the patients.
Apollo Hospital Muscat, which was recently upgraded into a full-fledged hospital, with world-class facilities, was officially inaugurated by Shihab bin Tariq Al Said, advisor to His Majesty the Sultan.
According to V T Saileswaran, managing director, Apollo Hospital Muscat, the facility currently has 25 specialised in-house doctors and eight super specialty visiting consultants from Apollo India, for neurology, oncology and orthopaedics.
“Our aim is to make this hospital one of the best treatment providers for nationals and the residents of Oman,” Saileswaran told TOO.
“We have plans for introducing an array of specialised departments in a phased manner, including separate clinics for thalassemia, orthopaedics and neuro diseases,” he added.
Speaking about the expansion of Apollo Hospitals in Oman, Saileswaran said “We have a definite plan but our first concern is to make our new hospital a better one with good treatments being made available in the area.”
Apart from clinic, a specialised medical travel assistance service and free second medical opinion service centre has also been set up for assisting patients.
According to Reddy, the travel desk will help patients get medical visas and access the medical services available at Apollo’s Indian chain.
“When a patient comes and gets treated in India, he or she can easily get the follow-up treatment back in Oman with the help of the travel desk,” Reddy said.
“A colleague of the doctor who treated them back in India is here to take care of the follow- up treatment and this is one of the major characteristics of the travel desk and this makes them different from others,” she asserted.