Monday, April 13, 2015
Mahkota Medical Centre Melaka, the largest private hospital in the southern region of Peninsular Malaysia, is investing about RM200 million to build a new 500-bed hospital block.
Chief Executive Officer Stanley Lam (pic) said the new block, on a parcel of land adjacent to the existing 270-bed hospital building, will be ready in two to four years.
"The new building will cater to the growth in the number of patients every year," Lam said in an interview recently.
Lam said Mahkota Medical Centre Melaka, owned by Health Management International Ltd (HMI), a company listed on the Singapore Exchange, has more than 300,000 patients annually of whom more than 30 per cent are foreigners, mainly from Indonesia.
"Every year our patient numbers increase by more than six per cent. There has been an increase in medical tourism in Malaysia, which can provide equally good medical treatment at a fraction of cost compared to Singapore," he said.
The Centre, with its niche in the middle income group, has seen a steady increase in annual revenue of more than 10 per cent with the expansion of medical tourism in the country and as more patients seek specialised services, he said.
The growth in medical tourism and health care services will continue despite rising health care costs, he said.
"Consultancy fees and staff costs are also expected to rise substantially due to the limited talent pool in the healthcare industry," he said. – Bernama
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