We had close to 300 NRIs for special health check-ups and other medical treatments
during Navratri last year.

 

AHMEDABAD,AUGUST 26, 2004
TNN

For a moment, forget the creaking public health infrastructure in Gujarat. A few weeks from now, it's going to be Navratri time again in 'vibrant' Gujarat. The buzzword in the government, which has only embarrassingly low investments to show from last year's extravaganza, is medical tourism.

The latest move is being billed as a safe option considering that a number of NRIs visit Gujarat during the festival to get their checkups done, which otherwise would have cost them a fortune in foreign lands.

A bypass surgery that costs between $50,000 and 1,00,000 abroad can cost as low as $3,000. And a full check-up with treadmill test and dentist consultancy can be done at a mere $150.

As corporate hospitals get plushier with Sterling offering angiography lounges, Mayflower offering underwater baby delivery facilities, no stone is being left unturned to woo these wealthy patients.

Heavy advertising in foreign papers has begun and the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) is preparing literature on the subject.

Health commissioner Amarjeet Singh had convened a meeting of corporate hospitals last week and another one is scheduled soon to discuss the nitty-gritty of medical tourism. The catch-line: The best treatment at one-fifth the cost.

"There will be exhibitions and seminars in which hospitals will participate," TCGL marketing manager Chaula Kuruva said.

"We had close to 300 NRIs for special health check-ups and other medical treatments during Navratri last year. We hope to better that," Sterling Hospital medical superintendent BK Gadhvi said. Gadhvi said doctors in the US, UK and East Africa have been asked to sell the walk-in angiographies to NRIs.

Apollo Hospital, that had placed its men at Navratri venues with pamphlets promoting their services last year, has advertised in popular Gujarati magazines abroad.

"Air-India's Ahmedabad-London flight will help in augmenting these efforts. Our aim is to ensure 25 per cent NRI occupancy,"Apollo Hospital CEO Alexander Kuruvilla said.

The Krishna Heart Institute, promoted by NRIs, is also wooing expatriates to club their heart treatment with their holiday back home this festive season. "We are actively promoting our hospital abroad," managing director Dr Animesh Choksi said.

Interestingly, Gujarat's biggest water park, Shanku's, which is located near Mehsana, plans to start a naturopathy hospital. "We are planning to take advantage of the medical tourism initiative to sell our centre to the NRIs," Raj Batra of Shanku's said.