Sodexo Healthcare, part of Sodexo’s Onsite Services division, is planning to roll out several new offerings in India from its global portfolio, a top official said.
“India is strategically important for us from a growth point of view,” said Stuart Winter, CEO Healthcare, Sodexo Asia Pacific, in an interview.
“The entire bouquet of services we have for the healthcare segment are relevant for India,” he said.
Currently, the company’s services in the healthcare segment in India include patient/visitor dining, technical services, cleaning, housekeeping, clinical technology management and prevention of Hospital Acquired Infection (HIF).
Globally, it provides customized services for senior citizens at specialized facilities or at their homes, team motivation services for hospitals, efficiency enhancement and smooth operation flow management at healthcare facilities and supplies and transport to name a few.
Answering a query on the possible new offerings for India Mr.Winter said, “Personally, I see market for hygienic environment within Indian health care systems & technical maintenance services around biomedical engineering and facilities management,” he added.
Sodexo’s global healthcare business is close to 5 billion Euro and it operates in 39 countries at over 4,300 hospital sites. It has over over 60,000 employees.
In India it provides services at over 45 hospitals including Apollo, Fortis, Manipal and AIIMS (Delhi). It is planning to expand to more private and government hospitals.
“The business in India has more than doubled in past 5 years. More than the numbers, we are excited about the sheer amount of opportunities that exist here. With a comprehensive portfolio of services we are poised for a double digit growth,” said Sambit Sahu, Segment Director, Healthcare, Sodexo Onsite Services India.
“We expect to continue with the growth momentum, backed by our tie-up with HLL Infra Tech Services Ltd (HITES). Going forward, we will leverage on the technical know-how, drive efficiencies in terms of offering productivity benefits to clients and adapt global offerings for the Indian requirements,” Mr Sahu said.
Though the company is associated with all the major brands in private sector, its partnership with HITES, an autonomous body under Ministry of Health, has enabled it enter into the government hospitals patient care system.
“These are the largest biomedical and laundry equipment purchasers in India; but lack the expertise in managing them. That is why our partnership provides the best solutions,” Mr Sahu said.
HITES looks into everything from designing to building healthcare infrastructure, procurement, office management. While Sodexo focuses on food, laundry, housekeeping and technical services.
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