Shailaja Suresh

In the wake of increasing demands of patients seeking quality and cost-efficient care, the Gleneagles Global Hospitals is leaving no stone unturned to live up to their expectations. With cutting-edge technologies and well-known expert faculties, the hospital ensures best clinical outcome, says Shailaja Suresh, Chief Executive Officer, Gleneagles Global Hospitals, Bengaluru, in conversation with Elets news Network (ENN).

Q Starting its journey from a small hospital, Gleneagles has grown into a world-renowned brand. How has been the journey?


Gleneagles Global Hospital started its journey with a 205-bed hospital in 2007. Since then we have come a long way with two hospitals in Bengaluru (Kengeri and Richmond Road) having 540 plus beds.

We have been at the forefront in state-of-the-art healthcare and have introduced the latest in surgical and technological advancements.

BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital, Kengeri has had a number of firsts in Karnataka, including the first dual organ (liver and kidney) transplantation; the first to complete 150 computer assisted knee joint replacement surgeries and 2,000 endoscopic ultrasound procedures; the first bilateral lung transplant, and the first successful simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplantation.


Q Commitment to patient-centric care and excellent services are characteristics of the hospitals…how would you summarise its role in fostering healthcare delivery system?

Patient-centric care and quality of services are the two tenets of an evolving healthcare system. While the primary goal of providing patient centric care is to improve individual outcomes, hospitals also stand to gain as this leads to a greater patient satisfaction and overall reduction in cost.

While star doctors are often a major reason for patients to opt for a certain hospital, various other factors are also taken into consideration. Provision of the best medical facilities and adoption of good natured bedside manners by the medical fraternity are equally important. A hospital must provide care that is respectful and responsive to the individual needs while involving them in the care.

Q The hospital offers tertiary and quaternary healthcare services with state-of the-art facilities. Tell us something significant about your specialties.

Our facilities in Bengaluru, particularly the one at Kengeri, one of the largest of its kind in the city. It consists of 14 operation theatres, advanced imaging facilities and a modern transplant ICU.

While we cater to a wide range of specialities; oncology, neurosurgery, liver diseases and gastroenterology are considered to be some of our key specialities owing to our wide expertise in these areas.

We are also the preferred centre for multi-organ transplantation. Organ transplantation is not a one-doctor show. We invest in a team of trained multi-disciplinary doctors, nurses, technology, academics, research and infrastructure that are required to establish and maintain a trusted organ transplant programme. We receive numerous patients from over 30 countries who come here seeking world-class treatment at an affordable rate.

Our doctors have been consulted in very complex cases and designed best treatment plans to often save patients from the direst conditions. A few interesting cases include a recent renal transplantation managed by the nephrology and transplant team. In this case, one kidney was used to subsequently save two lives as it was transplanted in two different patients over a period of time.

Our cardiothoracic team also completed two consecutive bilateral lung transplants in July 2018 followed by a few more, a surgery that is still relatively rare. The HPB (hepato- pancreato-biliary) team also achieved a milestone recently by completing 200 liver transplants in Bengaluru.

Q Modern-day technologies and innovative practices have improved patient care. What kind of initiatives has been undertaken by the hospital in this area?

Our hospital has invested significantly in advanced facilities. We use TrueBeam STx; the world’s most advanced linear accelerator for radiotherapy delivering accurate and precise radiotherapy for cancer treatment. Our gastro team has long been utilising spy glass, an innovative system that provides unprecedented and direct visualisation of the bile duct. This procedure has been used successfully to treat large liver tube gall stones without surgery.

The interventional radiology team at our hospital is well-versed in using the latest and minimally invasive treatment methods to treat cancer and other conditions.

Our doctors are adopting procedures including radioembolisation, tumour ablation, and transarterial chemoembolosation to enable better care to patients.

The bone marrow transplantation (BMT) team is also known to treat rare blood cancers and bone marrow disorders. The team has spent considerable time and effort in developing effective BMT procedures. Specialities like orthopaedics also manage various international patients with severe bone deformities.


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