NMC Health, a leading integrated private healthcare network operator in the UAE, has announced the addition of 260 beds spread across two Saudi Arabian assets in the key western and eastern regions of the kingdom.

The move comes through NMC’s European and Middle Eastern subsidiaries within its long-term & home care vertical.

The long-term & home care vertical was established as a strategic area of focus in the second quarter (Q2) of 2015 followed by acquisitions of two leading UAE based institutions in their respective fields, Provita in the long-term care and Americare in home care. NMC has since continued to develop both businesses, including expanding Provita’s capacity by 33 per cent through the addition of another 30 bed facility in the UAE in Q1 2016 to reach a total capacity of 120 beds as of H1 2016.

In addition, Provita recently commenced operations at 26 acute care beds within the adjacently located NMC Royal Super Specialty Hospital’s premises in Abu Dhabi, as part of efforts to develop a seamless integration of services across the continuum of care. As a result, the total current licensed and operational capacity in the long-term & home care vertical expands to 406 beds (+286 beds, +238 per cent compared to H1 2016) across two countries. The total capacity potential within current properties is at least 506 beds.

Prasanth Manghat, deputy chief executive officer of NMC, said: “This geographic expansion into Saudi Arabia is a major milestone for NMC that carries tremendous strategic significance and expands the group’s long-term care growth prospects substantially as we emerge as the largest regional provider in this highly specialised area of care through our top-in-class offering, track-record and brand. Most importantly, this combined expansion is expected to be highly accretive from 2017 onwards.”

Dr B R Shetty, chief executive officer of NMC, said:  “I am pleased to announce this strategic expansion into the largest regional healthcare market.”

“This represents another major advance towards our objective of developing a regional leader in the field of specialist long-term care. These investments are fully in line with our strategy and demonstrate our focus on delivering long-term growth of our strategic and competitive capabilities to expand sustainable shareholder returns,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service