UAE giant picks up Lakeshore Hospital & Research Centre majority stake

Kochi: UAE-based healthcare conglomerate VPS Healthcare has acquired majority stake in the 350-bed Lakeshore Hospital & Research Centre, one of the largest tertiary- level super specialty hospitals in Kerala. Announcing this in Kochi, Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, managing director, VPS Healthcare, said that the acquisition was part of the ambitious expansion plans VPS had chalked out for the subcontinent in the next five years. Dr. Shamsheer has also taken over as the chairman and managing director of the hospital, which has been renamed as VPS Lakeshore.

The hospital has more than 30 specialties and a centre of excellence for multi-organ transplant services. “To begin with, part of the new 2 lakh sq. ft. block, with an investment of around '300 crore, will become operational shortly. The new block will house advanced and efficient treatment facilities for cancer, cardiac and gastro-related diseases under one roof,” Dr. Shamsheer said.

Various services, including radiotherapy with two high-end LINAC (linear accelerator) with IGRT, IMRT and SRT (stereotactic radiotherapy) and nuclear medicine, including PET CT scan, SPECT CT scan and high dose nuclear therapy, will be made available in the new block.

Shortly, we are also adding cyberknife facility for stereotactic radio surgery,” he added. Mr. S. K. Abdulla, who has taken over as the CEO of VPS Lakeshore, said new cardiac electro physiology lab with ICD, CRT machines, which help in the early diagnosis and providing advanced treatment for variation of heart beat, will also be set up in the new block. Gastroenterologist Dr Philip Augustine, who had been the managing director of the hospital till the takeover, is the new medical director of the hospital.