All under one roof: Healthcare and luxury go hand in hand at Doctors’ Plaza

KARACHI: The clinic suites at the new doctors’ plaza look over at the neighbourhoods around Do Talwar. The rooms are extremely well-furnished and spacious, according to what the doctors felt that the clientele living in the area wanted.

It has been established by the Machiyara Group of Companies. It was launched on Sunday as an out-patient facility on the fifth floor of The Plaza Shopping Mall. Although the project had been completed six months ago and patients had been coming the clinics, the Machiyara Groups decided on allowing the doctors to take ownership of their own clinics. According to Altaf Lala, the marketing executive of the project, there are 40 clinics in the plaza -between 300 to 400 square feet in the total area of 2,000 square feet.

After seeing the positive response of the people, another block is being constructed to add about 20 clinics to the existing facility. The builder is providing free maintenance for all the clinics and there is also a separate underground parking reserved especially for the patients.

There are clinics for almost all branches of medicine - gynecology, dermatology, cosmetic surgery, dental care and surgery, orthopaedics, physiotherapy, urology, ENT, opthalmology, psychiatry, haematology, oncology, diabetes specialists, gastroenterology, nephrology, pulmonologist, cardiovascular, in addition to family physicians. Besides diagnostic facilities there is also a pharmacy, laboratory, vaccination centre and a state-of-the-art radiology facility. Dr Cyasp Noshirwani, a leading family physician, has been practising at his new luxurious two-suite office for the past six months. He said that the patients had responded well to his new facility. His clinic has a kitchen, a personal office and separate consultation and treatment rooms.

Other specialists at the doctors’ plaza clinic include pulmonologist Dr Musavir Ansari, urologist Dr Ahmed Fawad, consultant orthopaedic surgeon Dr Zaki Idrees, dermatologist Dr Askhok Gauba and eye surgeon Dr Muneer Qureshi.

The patients who were visiting the plaza said that the services were cheaper than other facilities present in the area, like South City or Park Lane Hospital. Sakina, who brought her seven-year-old daughter who was suffering from an infection, had a separate room to themselves at the Child Care Centre, a day-time emergency centre, of Dr Ghaffar Rahemtullah and his son. “It’s considerably cheaper than Aga Khan Hospital,” said Sakina. “I was charged Rs10,000 for an emergency visit.”

The only drawback seems to be the timings of the clinics, said one visitor. They are open only in the day, from 9 am to 10 pm, and do not work 24 hours a day like hospitals. Another visitor Kamal, who lives in the vicinity and read about the doctors open-house in the newspaper, said that with the investment that the doctors have made in their clinics they are sure to mint money from the patients to make up for it.

The establishment seems dangerous for the revenues of the already-existing hospitals in the area. Dr R Kumar, from South City Hospital, who was also present at the launch, said that his hospital is considered quite unaffordable by many potential patients who are, therefore, willing to experiment on new ventures.

Dr Qaiser Sajjad, a renowned ENT surgeon, bought his clinic in instalments like all the others.

For the sake of generating more profit, he divided his one suite into two. Even if he does not practice himself, he can rent out one of his facilities. Sajjad, who is also the vice president of the doctors committee, said that the doctors might even request the builder to add another floor and turn the plaza into an in-patient facility.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2012.