HOSPITALS are busy places that run all day, every day and help to cure all manner of diseases and injuries.

Every single day hospitals use mountains of single-use items such as rubber gloves, bandages, swabs and gowns. And then there is the food, washing powder, disinfectant and cleaning products that are consumed on a daily basis.

Other items can be reused many times like bedsheets, pillow cases, scalpels and surgical instruments. All of these products must be periodically replaced with new items.

More expensive items like beds and electronic equipment cannot – because of cost – be replaced as often but will still only last a handful of years.

Most of the expensive equipment electronic equipment used in Myanmar’s hospitals must be imported because they cannot be made locally.

For sophisticated products like CT scanners and MRI machines, many hospitals rely on brands like Siemens.

Siemens medical equipment has been used in Myanmar since 1962 and distribution of their products is currently handled by Meditech Company Ltd.
U Sithu Aung, Meditech’s business development manager, says the company started distributing Siemens equipment in 1997 and now has a range of 50 different items. Meditech sells linear accelerators, mammography machines and positron emission scanners.

“The Siemens equipment we sell is made in Germany and is mainly used for detection and diagnosis,” he says.

The most popular product Meditech sells is the ultrasound echo colour doppler, which is used to detect and diagnose heart disease. Many hospitals request this particular product, which sells for US$50,000 to $90,000.

Seven different versions of this system are available, which is why some models are considerably cheaper than the top-of-the-line $90,000 version.

“Additionally, we provide complete service assistance for all of our equipment. If our equipment breaks down at any time we will fix it as soon as possible,” he says.

The durability of Siemens products, U Sithu Aung says, puts them ahead of the competition.

“The brand is well known in the market although the prices are higher than similar products from other countries. But we guarantee these products for long-term use.

“Most customers prefer to buy cheaper equipment to save money but in the long run the quality of the equipment is very important,” he says.

“Because of the higher prices, only hospitals that can afford to invest large amounts of money – like Pun Hlaing hospital – can afford to use Siemens,” he says.

U Sithu Aung says similar products from Japan are about 30 percent cheaper, while Chinese versions can be bought for 60pc below Siemens’ cost.

One hospital necessity that can be sourced locally is furniture.

Thiha Kabar Trading Company Limited is the only domestic producer in the market and opened its doors to orders in early 2005.

U Nay Lin Aung, company manager, confidently says his company produces about 80pc of the furniture supplied to local hospitals.

“There are no local competitors in the marketplace and our products are much cheaper than those imported from China,” he says.

U Nay Lin Aung says his company produces about 50 different items, including beds, chairs, tables, trays and walking aids.

“Most of our buyers are government hospitals because they use more furniture than private hospitals and clinics. They buy our furniture because we offer the same features as imported products but at a lower cost,” he says.

The fowler bed is their most requested item; it sells for K480,000, far cheaper than the K800,000 to K1.5 million price of Chinese-made equivalents.

“This bed is very useful for patients because it can be adjusted to whatever position they need,” he says.

U Nay Lin Aung happily explains how he can is able to offer his products at lower prices.

“Our strongest advantage over imported products is that we do not have to pay import charges. Also, our transportation costs are much lower than our competitors.

He says sales have been increasing every month since the start of this year.