THE Singapore-based Parkway Holdings Limited yesterday announced the opening of the Shanghai Gleneagles International Medical, Dental and Surgical Center.

It is one more step in entering the local medical market after the company last week acquired the World Link Group.

Targeting the wealthy with a high demand for medical services, the joint-venture clinic established by Parkway and Shanghai's Huashan Hospital boasts an investment of US$8 million.

It provides family medicine and dentistry, minimally invasive surgery, gynecology, orthopedics, sports medicine, plastic surgery and general surgery.

"The World Link Group acquisition is very important for us to extend our patient base in Shanghai," said Dr Jonathan Seah, group vice president for Parkway North Asia Operations and Business Development.

"As a high-quality international healthcare provider which started business in 1996, World Link Group received over 100,000 patient visits in 2006. The new Gleneagles will complement World Link Group's existing network of outpatient clinics and impatient facilities.

"With the group's five clinics and the new Gleneagles, we have six branches in Shanghai right now." Xu Jianguang, president of Huashan Hospital, said the cooperation can introduce a world-leading medical concept and service to the city.

"Foreign medical facilities have a patient-centered concept, which is a weak point for Chinese hospitals and medical staff," Xu said. "For instance, a local patient always goes to different departments for a health check-up, while a patient just stays in one room waiting for different doctors to visit in Singapore."

Source:佚名