Highlights
- Billionaire cardiovascular surgeon's hospitals perform heart surgeries at $1,500 compared to $70,000 in America through economies of scale.
- AI-powered mobile platform developed over 20 years by 250 engineers instantly alerts doctors to critical test results, reducing medical errors.
- Practice Plus Group acquisition gives NHS-trained doctor gateway to treat more British patients while cutting healthcare costs.
An Indian-origin billionaire surgeon who cared for Mother Teresa and trained in the NHS has developed an AI-powered hospital system he believes can solve Britain's healthcare crisis, revealed his plans in an interview with The Telegraph.
Dr Devi Shetty, 72, founder of India's largest hospital network Narayana Health, recently acquired Practice Plus Group hospitals in the UK and is preparing to roll out a mobile-first technology platform that has revolutionised healthcare delivery across India and Kenya.
The cardiovascular surgeon, who trained at Leeds's Killingbeck Hospital, Royal Brompton and Guy's Hospital in London during the 1980s, told The Telegraph his Bangalore hospital schedules 36 heart surgeries daily while the entire NHS performs around 65 to 70 across all centres combined.
"I am convinced the NHS is one of the few systems in the world that can truly transform itself," Dr Shetty said.
"The pieces are there, the expertise, the workforce, the trust, it's a single payer on a national scale. It just needs to be put together."
Affordable healthcare
His organisation has invested over $100 million developing a real-time AI system operated by 250 software engineers.
The platform, which resembles WhatsApp in design, instantly delivers test results and imaging reports to doctors' mobile phones rather than desktop terminals checked only periodically throughout the day.
"Medical error is the third leading cause of death in the US," Dr Shetty explained, noting deadly lab results might return at 6pm but go unseen until morning.
His integrated AI reviews more than 70 data points per patient and suggests required interventions. "It is like a brilliant doctor standing behind every bed," he said.
The surgeon's approach centres on economies of scale. Heart bypass surgery costing $70,000 in America costs around $1,500 at his hospitals using identical equipment. "If a solution isn't affordable, it is not a solution," he stated.
Dr Shetty, who cared for Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa for five years until her death, said she "completely changed my attitude towards my profession, and society."
His teams are now preparing the system for GDPR compliance ahead of an imminent UK rollout through Practice Plus Group, which already treats high volumes of NHS patients.
The Wellsoon service targets ordinary workers, with 80 per cent having never used private healthcare previously.
"I don't mind if nobody remembers me after I die, I only want to see a world where everyone has access to healthcare," Dr Shetty said.
