Headline: Tour operators to offer cut-price surgery in India By Nick Meo in Bombay
Source: The Times (UK) February 13, 2004 at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-999258,00.html British patients are being enticed to jump NHS queues and travel to India for cut-price medical treatment. Travel operators are set to launch package tours to Indian hospitals later this year. Thomas Cook India and other major tour companies will offer return flights, an operation at a Bombay hospital, and post-operative sightseeing at South Indian temples or recuperation on the beach at Goa. The packages are part of a drive by the new Medical Tourism Council of Maharashtra to sell Indian hospitals as a cheaper, quality alternative to a long wait on the NHS. Indian doctors estimate that heart surgery costs an average �30,000 in Britain but only �6,000 in Bombay. The saving is comparable for other non-emergency treatment such as joint replacement, neurosurgery and cancer treatment. Patients will be able to choose their doctor and hospital on a website in Britain and will be met at the airport on arrival in Bombay and taken to the hospital of their choice. The medical tourism council was set up in November to market private Indian hospitals in Bombay, which claim operations cost about a fifth or less of the British price. Sushil Jiwarajka, the chairman of the Indian Chambers of Commerce in Bombay and a key backer of the marketing drive, said: "This is a chance for patients to jump the queues and get world-class medical treatment at a fraction of what it costs in Britain. "A lot of Indians living in the UK are already coming here, but we think we can reach a much wider market. "We want to set up a full package covering everything. The details of doctors will be posted on a website so patients can make an informed decision before they leave the UK. We will help to deal with immigration formalities. And there will be a fully equipped ambulance and someone to help the patients when they arrive here. "Basically we will hold their hand all the way through the experience. "Afterwards when they are recovering, we have some of the best beaches in the world, beautiful places for meditation holidays, or wonderful hills." Cox and Kings, an upmarket specialist travel company, and Taj Hotels, owners of the Taj Mahal hotel in Bombay, also plan to launch packages with the backing of the Maharashtra State Government's Tourism and Health Ministries. Doctors from some of Bombay's best hospitals say that about 500 foreign patients, mainly from the Middle East and South-East Asia, are already being treated daily in the city and medical tourism is fuelling growth in India's medical sector and promises to become one of the country's biggest earners. Anupam Verma, Director of Administration at the Hinduja Hospital, said: "Large numbers of British Asians have been coming to Bombay for years but we believe the potential is still much greater. We offer replacement knees and hips, heart surgery and cosmetic surgery at a fraction of the price in Britain. "Even after paying the air fare patients will find it affordable here. Bombay's hospitals have a very high reputation and there are no delays. This is going to be big. That is why a concerted effort is being made now." India's hospitals are also planning to offer to carry out operations for the NHS. "We could save the NHS a lot of money and reduce waiting time considerably," Mr Verma said. "We're at an initial stage with contacts and there is no formal tie-up with the NHS yet, but that is what we are looking at in the future." Maharashtra, the state of which Bombay is the capital, is competing against other Indian states anxious to break into the Western market. Mahendra Jain, tourism commissioner in the state of Karnataka, visited the World Tourism Mart in London in December to promote hospitals in Bangalore. The city, home to many of India's call centres, also boasts 25 medical centres including eight world-class cardiac hospitals. Madras also hopes to win patients from Britain. But Delhi is leading the way so far. The city's Apollo Hospital claims to have treated about 60,000 foreign patients from 55 countries in the past five years. James Campbell saved about �12,000 on knee surgery last year, including hotel bills and air fares, after spending about �8,000 to come to India from Scotland for surgery, compared with the estimated �20,000 he would have spent at home. Naresh Trehan, executive director at Escorts Heart Institute, said: "The main reason behind India emerging as a favourite destination for healthcare is that medical expertise available here is second to none. "State-of-the-art corporate hospitals in India are now offering the same technology as their counterparts in the rest of the world." However, some medical experts are wary of the trend. Meera Shiva, from the Voluntary Health Association of India, fears that if wealthy Western medical tourists flood in, prices could be forced up to the detriment of local patients. DEBATE How far would you go for an operation? Send your e-mails to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ============================================= Forwarded by Eddie Fernandes ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
