It seems like a short enough drive from the Delhi airport, and we don’t actually feel like we’re cutting across state lines when we ask to be taken to the new ‘Fortis’ hospital in Gurgaon. The taxi chap agrees quite readily and asks us if it’s the “big big one” in Hindi. Not having seen the place, we nod suspiciously, settling inside and hoping to be taken to the right place. Barely half an hour (and an exceptionally unbumpy 20 km away), we’re treated to our first glimpse of the Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), and we had to admit – mammoth was one of the words that quite easily came to mind.
Set across a sprawling 11 odd acres, the steel and glass edifice is a far cry from most of the Fortis hospitals that we have gotten used to, especially in the South. Though Fortis Malar in Chennai and their new hospital in Vadapalani have some of the best surgical facilities in the city, FMRI beats them hollow when it comes to infrastructure and sheer ergonomics. As we drive up to the portico, we notice two things: the emergency ambulance exits aren’t near the entrance and they have valet parking! Talk about luxurious, top-of-the-line service.
As we walk in, the impression that we are walking into one of the country’s most advanced multi-speciality hospitals is eroding quickly as everything around us from the decor, the outlay, the staff and the ergonomics wouldn’t seem out of place in your average four-star hotel. The lobby has a few fountains and the ambient lighting is helped with roofs designed to allow sunlight in. The gardens around FMRI are landscaped to a fault, despite the heat of the Delhi summer. “We have everything a patient and their attending relatives can hope for,” says an employee who acts as our guide. Everything, is a relative term. Sample this for size – FMRI has a swimming pool, food court with everything from Subway to pizza chains, a health club, a spa, a 36-seater movie theatre (uninnovatively called the Fortiplex) that will screen movies on release, besides top-notch surgical and medical facilities. People who bring patients in will also be able to spend those worrisome hours in style, as there are no ‘waiting rooms’ – instead there are 70-odd plus leather recliners laid out in a lounge where people can relax and watch TV with headphones and charge their phones and laptops.
“We’re looking at taking healthcare to the next level,” says Dr Ashok Seth, the man who is best known for his pioneering work as Chairman of the Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, “We’ve roped in some of the best surgeons and given them the most cutting-edge medical diagnostic and surgical aids available in the market today, so we know where we’re headed,” he adds. FMRI will look to focus on Oncology, Trauma and Paediatric Care – which explains why they have great chemo units and paediatric wards. “The chemo rooms have a glass wall that gives people a view of the world outside and we also offer them some art therapy to keep them happy and content during this difficult period,” said one of the oncologists in the ward. Most of the surgeons are from reputed institutes like AIIMS and other top multi-speciality corporate hospitals across the country.
As we marvel at the facility, particularly stopping to check out the advanced physiotherapy unit and the stem cell lab, it is apparent that this hospital is still finding its feet. “We’ve opened only about 450 beds and there is a lot of work to do before we reach our full potential of 1000 beds. But with the robust response we’ve had so far, we are confident that things will happen very soon,” said Dr Sandeep Attawar, Paediatric Heart Surgeon.
