India: First hospital in India to achieve Halal certification

May 14, 2012, Chennai : Global Health city, world class tertiary multi super specialty hospital, is the first hospital in India to receive the Halal Certification for it’s hospital services by Halal Development Corporation (HDC). This initiative will further help in boosting medical value travel from Muslim countries like SAARC, MENA and S.E Asian Region which constitutes around 75 percent share of patient traffic.

Dr. K. Ravindranath, Chairman & MD, Global Hospitals Group, said “With about two billion Muslims worldwide and a major number of international health travellers coming to Global Healthcity from the Islamic nations, we see Halal certification as a form of approval that boosts our patients’ trust and confidence in our range of hospital services. To earn the certification, Global Health City had to meet strict Islamic guidelines dealing with hygiene & dietary regulations of global standards.”

“This Halal certification will further help in boosting medical value travel in our country and showcasing our world class infrastructure.” He further added.

Mr. Mohamed Jinna, CEO, Halal India stated “We have great heritage for service and hospitality in India which also signifies that we can take good care of patients. The state of art technologies available in medical care is just perfect for overseas patients.  All we need to do is understand their culture and custom so that we accommodate them well and make them feel truly at home”  This way we can respect their values and belief and at the same time cater to this niche market in India.”

Global Health City is one of the few hospitals in the world to have Halal certification. Halal, an Arabic word meaning “lawful or permitted”, is the certification given by the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia. The concept of Halal, is not just being applied to food, but it includes services and infrastructure as per rules in Quran. Global Health City provides special desk for such patients which includes patient managers and co-ordinators who are caring and  knowledgeable about the language, culture and expectations of the patient from the Islamic world. The hospital provides prayer room with Friday prayers, customized cuisine & Arabic TV channels in the rooms.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Chandra Sekhar, Executive Director, Global Hospital Group said “As with the concept of Halal Friendly Medical Tourism it’s a proven set of services which helps hospital attract more and more patients from SAARC & S.E Asia region as well as from various other countries. The biggest example of countries which has already implemented this concept is Thailand, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, UK and Malaysia.”

GLOBAL HEALTH CITY

Global Health City, Chennai is a 500 bedded super specialty tertiary care facility, with a capacity to expand to 1000 beds. It renders 360 degree advanced tertiary healthcare services with multi-super speciality and multi-organ transplant services. With the finest combination of expertise, experience, state-of-the art technology and well coordinated team work, every step is aimed at ensuring excellence in patient care.

The Global Hospitals Group started with its first Hospital a decade ago in Hyderabad. Today, it has nine hospitals with over 2000 beds, strategically spread across the country with branches now in Bangalore and Chennai and many more in advanced stages of planning and implementation, one such being the Mumbai facility which is proposed to be operational by the end of the current financial year. Each unit is a world class tertiary care multi super specialty Hospital with facilities matching the best in the world and offering advanced patient care of international standards.

Halal India

Halal India (HI) is as an Independent Certification body which is recognized by the Government of India. Halal India is one of the established Halal Certification body in India. Halal India Certification is becoming more relevant in today’s market mainly because people are more aware of the Halal concept it is not just about religious related matters but it extends to the products or services being deemed safe for consumption as well as have health benefits.

Halal India is recognized by IHIA (International Halal Integrity Alliance, Malaysia) who is a partner of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). It has been recognized by the 57 OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) Countries, in principle member with the World Halal Council and Intertek Testing Services, a testing company, are its global partners.

Hospitals eye ‘halal’ certification to attract patients from Middle East

, Times of India

CHENNAI: There are two things that worry almost every patient from Islamic countries who come to Indian hospitals: the meat they eat and the direction of Mecca. With more than 75% of the medical tourists being from the Middle East, hospitals are eyeing ‘halal’ certification to make them feel at home.

On Monday, Chennai-based Global Health Citysaid it has became the first in the country to receive the ‘halal’ certification from the Halal Development Authority. The certification would mean they get ‘halal’ meat in food and have ‘quiblah’ (the direction of Mecca) signs in every room and prayer hall. Muslims offer prayers facing ‘quiblah.’

At least five leading hospital groups in the country including Apollo Hospitals and Fortis are in talks with the authority, said Halal India general manager Mohamed Noman Lateef. In Chennai, Mehta Hospitals and Lifeline Hospitals have also sent applications for the certification.

Halal India, is an independent Halal Certification body which is recognised by the Indian government and deals with certification of food, cosmetics and drugs as per the Shariah law. Halal is anything that is legal or lawful for Muslims. In terms of meat, halal applies to the kind of meat (pork is banned), their health condition and the way they are killed. The butcher must make a recitation to God and cut the jugular vein, carotid artery and the windpipe with a sharp knife. The animal can’t be stunned before it is killed.

To ensure the meat used in the Global hospital’s kitchen is ‘halal,’ officials from Halal India visited the slaughter house from where the meat is purchased. “It’s not just about food or prayer hall, it’s about lifestyle. For any Muslim it is important that any business performed in their daily lives is clean, hygienic and not detrimental to either their health or wellbeing as specified in the religious text. In that sense, it is a new benchmark for quality,” said Halal India business development manager Sheetal Bajaj.

Hospital chairman Dr K Ravindranath said Halal certification was a form of approval that boosts patients’ confidence. “To earn the certification, Global Health City had to meet strict Islamic guidelines dealing with hygiene and dietary regulations of global standards.” The hospital’s international business vice-president M Zakariah Ahmed said after Joint Commission International (JCI) this would be one of the biggest certification process hospitals in the country are aiming for.

Every room will also have a sticker that gives the exact direction of Mecca. “I tell every patient the food is halal. But I feel they would be happy to see the certification,” said Global Hospital’s international patients executive Vireesh Singh. “We tell them that we make public announcements for prayer and ensure that we give women a separate place during prayer,” he said.

Transplant surgeon Dr Madhu Shankar agrees. “People from the Middle East have a different culture. We don’t enter the female patient’s room without their permission. A female nurse will walk in first and seek permission for a male doctor’s entry,” he said.