This UK patient avoided the NHS list and flew to India for a
heart bypass. Is health tourism the future? (We at Travelmartindia.com
certainly think so - but don't take our word for it, read on
to know for yourself the national reports about a burgeoning
quality healthcare sector in India…)
Three months ago George Marshall fretted about the choice
offered by his doctor in Britain. Diagnosed with coronary
heart disease, the violin repairer from Bradford was told
he could either wait up to six months for a heart bypass operation
on the National Health Service or pay £19,000 to go
under the scalpel immediately.
In the end, Mr Marshall chose to outsource his operation to
India. Last month he flew 5,000 miles to the southern Indian
city of Bangalore where surgeons at the Wockhardt hospital
and heart institute took a piece of vein from his arm to repair
the thinning arteries of his heart. The cost was £4,800,
including the flight.
"Everyone's been really great here. I have been in the
NHS and gone private in Britain in the past, but I can say
that the care and facilities in India are easily comparable,"
says Mr Marshall, sitting in hospital-blue pyjamas. "I'd
have no problem coming again."
The 73-year-old found the hospital in Bangalore after a few
hours surfing the internet. Mr Marshall decided to come after
an email conversation with Wockhardt's vice-president and
a chat with other "medical tourists" from Britain
who had undergone surgery in the hospital.
"Once I knew others had come I thought, why not? In
Europe hospitals in Germany and Belgium would do the operation
for less than doctors in Britain. But Europe was still more
expensive than here. And the staff speak English in India."
With patients such as Mr Marshall willing to travel across
the globe to get treatment sooner or more cheaply than they
could at home, Indian hospital groups see a huge market for
their services.
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