BP healthcare provider opens first ENT, gastroscopy specialist centre

KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 (Bernama) -- Malaysia’s leading healthcare provider BP Healthcare Group has opened its first ENT (ear, nose and throat) and gastroscopy specialist centre in Cheras here with five more to be added this year. The specialist centre marks the latest in modern medical services introduced by the BP Healthcare -- Southeast Asia’s largest medical diagnostic chain with over 90 outlets in Malaysia and a regional presence in Indonesia and Thailand in the works. BP Healthcare deputy chairman Chevy Beh said in all, the company plans to establish 15 ENT and gastroscopy specialist centres in BP Healthcare outlets in major cities and towns across the country. “This is a new consumer-driven dimension to our services from primary care to secondary care. It is another value-added service to our Head2Toe emphasis on healthy living and underlines our constant attention to the real needs of consumers and diseases related to lifestyle changes,” Beh said. He said the ENT and gastroscopy specialist centres' chain will make screening easily accessible to the public and cut down waiting time for those requiring tests. With each centre costing RM2 million (about US$631,995) to start up, BP Healthcare will be spending RM30 million (US$9.5 million) over the next two years to set up the 15 specialist centres, with seven to eight to be based in the Klang Valley and the rest in Penang, Ipoh, Melaka, Johor Baharu in peninsular Malaysia as well as Kota Kinabalu and Kuching in east Malaysia. The pilot centre was launched last month at the BP Healthcare outlet in Taman Cheras Makmur in Cheras. Consumers will also be able to visit similar specialist centres in BP outlets in Glenmarie in Shah Alam, Bukit Tinggi in Klang and in Ipoh within the next six months. In preparation for the centres' launching, Beh said BP Healthcare has increased the number of its ENT and gastroenterology experts and more would be hired in tandem with the growth of the 15 outlets and expected demand for the two new services. -- BERNAMA