 For Dr Prathap Reddy, it was a nostalgic moment the other day when he inaugurated the new clinic of Apollo Hopsitals at Raja Annamalaipuram in south Chennai, the neighbourhood where he began his career.
The Apollo Clinic located on St Mary's Road, Raja Annamalai Puram, is located barely a stone's throw from the HM Hospital where Dr Reddy joined as a cardiologist soon after completing his studies abroad.
The new clinic marks the homecoming for Dr Reddy. Inaugurating the clinic in the presence of his daughter Preetha Reddy and a host of friends, relatives and well-wishers, he turned emotional as the event signified the doctor's return to his roots.
Dr Reddy said, "The opening of the Apollo Clinic at R A Puram is indeed a moment to cherish for all of us in the Apollo family. It was here in R A Puram that the genesis of the 'Apollo Dream' began. Working to make this dream a reality has meant a lot of sweat and toil for the entire Apollo family and today we are happy to have come full circle."
Dr Reddy added that the commitment to this clinic was as much professional as personal. Attention had been paid to the minutest detail to ensure that the clinic conformed to the benchmarks that Apollo has set for itself in the past two decades.
The clinic offers complete healthcare facilities including:
Multi-speciality offerings
24-hour pharmacy
8 hours of consulting time
Basic investigation
Infrastructure
Ambulance services
Diagnostic services
The new clinic signifies tremendous achievement of Apollo Hospitals. The last 20 years, since Dr Reddy's HM Hospital days, have seen the success and excitement that dreams are made of. Apollo Hospitals has grown from being India's first state-of-the-art corporate hospital to becoming an institution that has spearheaded India's evolving health space. Apollo's reach has grown from 150 beds to over 6,000 beds and today the hospital touches the lives of over 10 million people.
Dr Reddy said his memory went back to 1970 when HM Hospital was set up as the first speciality hospital. At the time many questioned the wisdom of setting up a hospital in south Madras when the in-thing was to look for space on Poonamallee High Road, Purasawalkam or Kilpauk. "At the most, you will make Rs 100 here and go back," a gentleman warned him. However, Dr Reddy and other specialists stuck to their task and this was the seed of the massive institution called Apollo Hospitals. Later, he founded the Apollo Group.
On the clinic in R A Puram, Dr Reddy said it would be run by a franchisee. It would have seven to eight doctors handling different disciplines. The Apollo Group has clinics in T Nagar, Anna Nagar and Adyar.
 He said Apollo believed in taking healthcare to the doorsteps of the people. Consequently, having more franchisees was the way out so that people didn't have to travel long distances to reach the Apollo Hospital. Also, this would reduce overcrowding at the main hospital.
In all, 18 Apollo centres are functioing now and this number would increase to 38 in three-four months, 250 in a year, he said, adding that the aim of Apollo was to establish 500 centres in the country.
Dr Reddy said he would have liked to take over the HM Hospital but a private builder came in the way and the building has now been razed to the ground.
RR
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Homecoming for Dr
Prathap Reddy
