Why Consider India For Treatment?

Offering some of the best medical treatment in the world and with an excellent reputation in its private hospitals India’s health care sector has undergone an enormous boom in recent years and it has become a global health destination, with its medical tourism area growing by 30 per cent each year.  Despite any prejudices about healthcare in developing countries, rest assured that the private hospitals and clinics in
India are at the forefront of medical technology and equipped with modern state-of-the-art technology and highly skilled medical personnel.  In fact, Indian doctors are considered to be among the best in the world and their high level of surgical expertise evolves from many years of training – after studying in India many doctors train and work in the
UK, and become members of the BMC. Hygiene in the private hospitals is excellent, surgical patients are screened for HIV and Hbs Ag antibodies to prevent transmission of communicable diseases and the incidence of MRSA is minimal.  It is normal for the operation theatres to have laminar air flow installed and gaining ISO9001 standardization (a voluntary standardization run by a non governmental body where hospitals must pass rigorous tests to be certified) is becoming increasingly popular in clinics and hospitals. 

Low cost treatment:  What’s more, healthcare facilities in India are the most cost-effective in the world with private hospitals offering treatment at a fraction of the price of those in the UK.  A single knee replacement costs £9,000 in the UK but in India it is a quarter of the price at £2,150 (*quote from the Knee Surgery, Chennai).  And as for dentistry, having a full set of teeth capped costs just £400, compared to the UK where one tooth cap costs a shocking £45.* (*Quote from Manipal Hospital, Bangalore). Patients – or medical tourists – as they are becoming known can book package deals which include flights, transfers, hotels, treatment and often a post-operative vacation where they can take advantage of the ancient Ayurvedic stream of medicines and alternative rejuvenating retreats where they can practice yoga, meditation or have some naturopathy.  
 Main centers: The medical hot spots are Bangalore, New Delhi, Kolkata (Calcutta), Ludhiana, Chennai and Hyderabad and getting to India is also affordable with airlines offering deals from as little as £300 return.  Flying time, for example, from London to
Delhi is around nine hours so it makes sense to take in some of the many intriguing sights and sounds of this remarkable country while you’re there. 
India has a tropical climate with high temperatures and dry winters and the best time to visit is between October and March as the monsoon is apparent throughout the country between May to September.  So, with private facilities equal to European counterparts, efficient, multilingual doctors and dentists, coupled with massive savings on surgery, India is a sensible choice for treatment abroad.  The healthcare system in
India India has always had a very large private health sector including providers of modern medicine as well as traditional practitioners and has one of the largest pharmaceutical industries in the world, producing and exporting drugs to more than 180 countries. 
India’s hospitals have earned their reputation as world-class institutions with state-of–the art technology.  The prices are attractively low in comparison with the West and as a result there has been a rapid growth in international patients visiting India for medical treatment for cardiac and other major surgery, and the Government is marketing India as a medical tourism destination, having already introduced Medical Visas. India’s private hospitals offer highly sophisticated and specialised medical services at very affordable prices and a growing trend has emerged for patients from the UK to consider India for their private healthcare – the country is now being dubbed the healthcare hub of Asia, with its healthcare industry set to grow by 15 per cent a year for the next six years. 
 

Hospital and doctor standards: As one of the key players in medical tourism there is a growing need for accredited hospitals, to ensure best practices in a safe environment.  The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is the body which ensures this quality in the hospitals and clinics and many hospitals are also applying for ISO 9001 accreditation, which is a non-governmental body, to raise their profile.  The Medical Council of India is the equivalent of the UK’s General Medical Council and all doctors must be registered with this in order to practice while The Indian Medical Association looks after the interests of doctors as well as the community in which they practice. The Indian Health Care Federation (IHCF) is an independent non-statutory body which liaises between government, health providers, medical equipment manufacturers and other medical institutions. IHCF has a membership of around 300 members from across India and is affiliated to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).  The Indian government is working on establishing minimum quality standards to reassure patients seeking treatment abroad and the Joint Commission International USA is the Gold Standard accreditation for US and European hospitals which represents provision of the highest levels of patient care and patient safety.