ALAPPUZHA:
Minister for Public Works G Sudhakaran today hailed the efforts of HLL Lifecare Ltd in providing affordable life-saving drugs and medical equipment to needy patients as he inaugurated the new HLL Pharmacy & Surgicals and HLL Opticals outlet at the Alappuzha Government TD Medical College.
The store is the 12th to open in Kerala as part of a chain under a pioneering joint venture of th
“The high cost of medicines and medical equipments has been a point of discussion in Kerala. Moreover, government medical colleges are showing their unprofessionalism by guiding patients to private hospitals. However, the efforts of HLL have been making the change in the medical industry by making it more professional,” said the Minister in his inaugural address.
HLL Pharmacy & Surgicals offers surgical implants and other products like medicines, disposables, stents and pacemakers at 10 to 40 per cent discounts. HLL Opticals provides lenses and frames at 10 to 40 per cent lower than market rates. In addition to subsidised services for the needy, the centre also provides cashless services to Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) cardholders.
The first centre of HLL Pharmacy & Surgicals started functioning at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College in October 2011. It has branches in Pathanamthitta General Hospital, Ernakulam and Kozhikode medical colleges and Kannur and Vatakara District Hospital as well. HLL Opticals was started first in the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology in Thiruvananthapuram.
Alappuzha District Panchayath President G Venugopal presided over the event and HLL Director (Marketing) Dr Babu Thomas delivered the welcome address.
“When the private labs charged hefty rates on the patients for scanning and other services, HLL Lifecare Limited came up with Hindlabs. This made the services more affordable for patients. And this has prompted the private labs to cut the rates. HLL aims to deliver reliable, affordable and quality health solutions to the needy and the less privileged,” said Dr Babu Thomas.
HLL Director (Technical and Operations) Shri E A Subramaniam, Medical College Principal Dr N Sreedevi and other local and political representatives also spoke during the event.
HLL, a ‘mini Ratna’ PSU of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, plans to launch similar centre in Thrissur on March 20th.
