Ugandan pair takes over AMI Hospital

Dar es Salaam. A new investor, Sali International Hospital (SIH), has acquired all assets belonging to former African Medical Investment (AMI) Hospital, which closed business in Dar es Salaam in May, this year.

AMI Hospital, or Trauma Centre ,was sent packing from its premises after the High Court ordered it to vacate following a $1.578 million (about Sh3.4 billion on the prevailing exchange rate) tenancy dispute with the landlord.

Five months later, SIH proprietors, Dr Edward Tamale-Ssali and his wife Kate Ssali, have occupied the area, promising to offer Tanzanians superior health services.

The two have also added more modern equipment and moved to put up a state-of-the-art international hospital at the same premises in Dar es Salaam’s Masaki area. The facility opened its doors to patients in early October.

“The investment that we have made in this hospital will break new grounds for healthcare in Tanzania,” Dr Ssali, who is a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, told a section of journalists in the city at the weekend. He did not, however, reveal the actual investment.

He said the decision to open the facility came after potential clients – ranging from local residents, business men, international and local dignitaries as well as tourists – pressured him to do so.

“A lot of health services we offer here were not available since AMI closed and patients had to be flown out of the country to acquire specialized services,” said Dr Ssali.

Without revealing the numbers, he said the number of both out and in-patients going to the hospital since it opened last month is on the increase. “The support we have been getting from the local community and uptake in patient numbers since we started has been gratifying. Our responsibility is to ensure that the trust they place in this facility and their confidence in the services we provide are upheld at all times,” said Dr Ssali.

Banking on a number of highly respected specialists on board with extensive experience in areas such as internal medicine, gynaecology, cardiology and paediatrics, Dr Ssali believes he has what it takes to becoming a leading supplier of private specialist hospitals services across Tanzania, as well as East and Central Africa.

“Although we have recalled some former AMI specialists, we have also recruited specialists from the local medical field with exceptional medical service records and international expatriates, with focus on racial dynamics. This gives SIH an added advantage to serve a rage of patients, thereby raising our performance and hence positively influencing our balance sheet portfolio,” he said.