Participates in tenders for hospital projects in the region, in particular Al Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi and physician exchange programs with Al Mouwassat Hospital in Saudi Arabia
Dubai – June 12th 2004: Parkway Group Healthcare (PGH), Asia's leading fully-integrated healthcare provider with the largest network of private hospitals and healthcare services in the region, announced an aggressive marketing and business development plan for the Middle East. The announcement came at the end of the first ever three-city tour that took healthcare professionals from Singapore to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain between May 20th and 27th. The road-show was organized by Singapore Medicine, a multi-agency government initiative formed to develop and promote Singapore’s healthcare services.
“Our aim has been to create awareness in offering alternatives for patient seeking treatment overseas. Traditionally, most Middle East patients have looked to the west for their treatment,” said Lum Hean Choong, assistant general manager at Parkway Group Healthcare. “We, in Singapore offer comparable treatment and care at competitive prices. At Parkway, we see about 30 to 40 patients each month from the region. We hope to see this increasing over time, especially during the summer holidays.”
Over the years, PGH has earned a reputation of a regional referral centre. Out of the 200,000 foreign patients that come to Singapore each year, over 60% come to Parkway for its quality of treatment and care. It is renowned for its treatment in the specialties of cancer, brain, heart, liver and stem cell transplant. The Group is Asia’s largest private healthcare group. It owns and operates 3 hospitals in Singapore, the Gleneagles, Mount Elizabeth and East Shore hospitals and 7 hospitals in the region; in Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Brunei. The first hospitals in Asia to achieve ISO certification, they collectively perform the highest number of cardiac and neuro surgeries in the region.
“Parkway has been exploring the Middle East market for the past 2 to 3 years. We have looked at opportunities in hospital projects like hospital management and development and have participated in tenders for Al Corniche Hospital in Abu Dhabi,” continued Lum Hean Choong. “We participate in physician exchange programs with hospitals in the region like Al Mouwassat Hospital in Saudi to exchange ideas and expertise so as to increase the overall standard of healthcare in the region.”
Parkway owns three private hospitals in Singapore, and a network of regional hospitals in Malaysia, India and Brunei. The Groups other healthcare network includes Shenton Medical Group, one of Singapore’s biggest general practice; Medi-Rad Associates Ltd, a leading radiology service provider; and Parkway Laboratory Services Ltd, a major provider of laboratory services locally. The Group is also a pioneer in the private healthcare industry providing contract research services through subsidiary Gleneagles Clinical Research Centre Pte Ltd.
In an independent survey published by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy in April 2003, expatriates in Asia rated Singapore healthcare system as third in the world, following the United States and Australia. In 2002, the World Health Organisation’s first worldwide analysis of health systems ranked Singapore as the best in Asia, ahead of Japan (ranked 10) and the US (ranked 37).
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© Press Release 2004
