07 December,2010 06:23 AM IST | | Priyanka Vora
Shiv Sena's Manohar Joshi owns Kohinoor hospital in Kurla. Then why did he rush to Lilavati for his heart surgeries?
Founder of Kohinoor group, Sena bigwig Manohar Joshi passed up on his own facility to have his angioplasty and angiography done at Bandra's Lilavati hospital.
The Kurla-Vidyavihar-based 175-bed 'super-specialty' Kohinoor hospital, as the hoardings claim, run by Joshi's son, Umesh, was snubbed by Joshi at a time when it is aiming to increase footfalls.
While Joshi was receiving treatment at Lilavati, the city was adorned with various hoardings that proclaimed Kohinoor's affordable and quality healthcare to attract more patients (see box).
On Sunday, Joshi was discharged after a week from the Lilavati hospital following his double surgeries there.
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"He underwent an angiography followed by an angioplasty as he was diagnosed with two major blockages in his heart," said Dr Samuel Mathew, senior cardiologist at Lilavati hospital.
Dr Rajeev Boudhankar, vice president of Kohinoor hospital, said, "In September, we had initiated a package of affordable procedures for heart-related ailments for the common man.
This was part of our CSR and to increase the footfalls at the hospital."
But the hospital doesn't mind that its proprietor traced his footsteps to a facility elsewhere.
Inaugurated last year by the then chief minister Ashok Chavan in the presence of Shiv Sena's executive president Uddhav Thackeray, Kohinoor's management thinks there is nothing to be upset about with Joshi's decision to opt for another hospital.
"Dr Samuel Mathew, who is attached to Lilavati hospital, has been Manohar Joshi's cardiologist for many years now, while Kohinoor Hospital came into being only last December.
Naturally, when Joshi felt uncomfortable, he went to Dr Mathew for consultation and followed his advice," said the spokesperson of Kohinoor Group, Ulhas Kulkarni.
Dr Boudhankar, said, "Dr Mathew is not attached to our hospital, so he (Joshi) preferred Lilavati hospital. In healthcare, it is the doctor who the people want to go to.
The patient does not have a say but to go where his treating doctor is."
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But Dr Mathew may soon be part of the hospital. He said that he is contemplating shifting to Kohinoor after Joshi personally requested him to join the hospital. "I am intending to join Kohinoor also," he said.
The 'super-specialty' Kohinoor hospital at Kurla is owned by Manohar Joshi's son Umesh
About Joshi's decision to choose Lilavati instead of his own hospital, Dr Mathew said, "To the best of my knowledge, Kohinoor hospital is an excellent facility but I am not attached to it.
So I can't go there and take the case." Currently Joshi is recovering from the three angioplasties he had undergone earlier here.
Politicians speak
Senior Congress leader and spokesperson Anant Gadgil, said, "It is a personal issue and we would not like to comment on it."
MNS spokesperson, Shirish Parkar, said, "It is his choice which doctor he wants to go to and thus there is nothing to say on it."
Matteru00a0of choice?
When Joshi chose Lilavati hospital over his own, officials from Kohinoor, a platinum rated hospital under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, said that the hospital was observing healthy heart month and attractive discounts were offered to get more patients interested.
The discounts offered were on cardiology procedures wherein angiography was conducted for Rs 8,000 as opposed to the normal rate of Rs 14,000-25,000 (Rs 13,000 in Lilavati), and angioplasty was done Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh as opposed to Rs 2-3.5 lakh, charged in Lilavati.
The Other Side
Joshi was not reachable, while his son Umesh did not wish to comment on his father's choice of hospital.
