Bangkok Hospital in Bt6 bn expansion
BANGKOK HOSPITAL Group is expanding its medical facilities at a cost of Bt6 billion over the next two years in order to cope with rising healthcare demand from overseas markets.
Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, group chief executive officer and president of Bangkok Dusit Medical Services – the listed parent company – yesterday said the group would start construction of the first two new hospital buildings this year, with completion expected in 2016.
Located next to Bangkok Hospital on New Phetchaburi Road, one of the two new buildings on the plot will be dedicated to serving patients from Myanmar, while the other one will be specific to the Middle Eastern market.
Each of the two new hospitals will operate 50 beds, and the joint investment cost is Bt2 billion.
“Once the new hospitals are opened, Myanmar and Arab patients will be housed separately from other nationalities in order to offer a more efficient service,” said Prasert.
The group will also build another four buildings on the plot, for a combined outlay of Bt4 billion. This part of the development is also expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
The four buildings will comprise a total of 200 beds, and all facilities will be upgraded to the American-standard level in order to serve global markets, said the CEO. “This part of the expansion will help increase our position as a real international-standard hospital – American-service standard – and for the treatment of special deceases,” he added. The group earlier signed contracts with hospitals in the US for further cooperation and the exchange of specialist doctors.
Aside from the new facilities, the group will enhance its Bangkok Health Research Centre to pave the way for building its international reputation and presence. Prasert said 25 per cent of the group’s 870,000 patients last year were foreigners. This is expected to rise to 30 per cent next year, and to 40 per cent in 2016 when the new facilities are completed.
The expansion also aims to capture more of the Asean market, with a target of 500,000 patients from the region in 2015-2016.
Last year, 2.3 million foreigners visited Thailand for medical treatment, while Singapore received 850,000 medical visitors, Malaysia welcomed 700,000 and the Philippines had 81,000.
While the cost of treatment in Thailand is two times lower than in Singapore, it is more expensive than in Malaysia and the Philippines – as well as in India. Bumrungrad Hospital and Bangkok Hospital were earlier ranked sixth and eighth respectively in terms of the best global hospitals for tourists.
With this good image and reputation, Bangkok Hospital Group is now entering non-core businesses, including medicine and food-supplement products, as these can generate a profit margin of up to 18 per cent compared to 11 per cent from core products, said the chief executive.
Bangkok Hospital Group is the largest hospital network in Thailand and Southeast Asia. It operates 6,100 beds in the Kingdom and Cambodia under six brands: Bangkok Hospital, Samitivej, BNH, Phyathai, Paolo Memorial and Royal.
