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India, a growing healthcare destination
Monday, 14 July 2003, 19:30 IST
BANGALORE: A Pakistani girl's arrival here for heart surgery has turned the spotlight on India as a premier healthcare destination for South Asians.
"We have lost count of the number of children we have operated upon from Bangladesh. It is over 55 from Pakistan so far," says Rajesh Sharma, paediatric cardiac surgeon at the Narayana Hrudayalaya who will be operating on Pakistani girl Noor Fatima.
India is the destination of choice for all South Asian countries and even the Middle East, whose citizens come with their infants with congenital heart problems for medical treatment. The care they get is world class -- as well as cheaper.
"None of the SAARC countries have paediatric cardiac surgeons. That's one reason they come to us and to three other hospitals in India," Sharma, formerly of New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), told IANS.
AIIMS, the Madras Medical Mission (Chennai) and the Chitrathirunal Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram are the three other hospitals in India which have specialist surgeons to treat babies born with congenital heart diseases.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Noor, for instance, has two holes in her heart. And "India was the first choice" to get her treated, says her father Nadeem Sajjad.
The Sajjads boarded the first bus of the resumed bus service from Lahore to New Delhi last week.
"Noor has multiple holes between the two lower chambers of the heart and obstruction for blood flow to the lungs. This is not a complex problem because it is very common among newborns in SAARC countries," said Sharma.
He had once postponed operating on a baby, Babbar, from Islamabad because he had developed pneumonia. Babbar developed high fever when he was brought via the Dubai route to Bangalore.
"If politicians and diplomats can cross the Wagah border with ease, why should infants suffer like this? After all, there is no difference between the heart of an Indian baby and a Pakistani's," Sharma said pointing to a score of infants in the intensive trauma unit (ITU).
Expertise is not the sole reason for patients with such problems to flock to India.
"The cost makes a difference, sometimes a tremendous difference. An operation like this would cost 
200,000-300,000 in India and at Narayana Hrudayalaya, it would be around 125,000.
"It would cost 10 to 20 times this amount in developed countries," he said.
The assembly line surgery concept is what makes the difference in making healthcare cost effective.
On an average, 14 to 15 surgeries are conducted in the operation theatres at this hospital, 25 km from the city. And at least four to five of these patients are newborns.
Even adults from SAARC countries flock to India for healthcare.
Patients from the Middle East and African countries have been regularly coming to Indian cardiac hospitals like Escorts in New Delhi, Apollo in Hyderabad and Chennai, and Chitratirunal in Thiruvananthapuram.
"The maximum number of consultations online with our specialists comes from Pakistan and Malaysia," said Sangita Reddy, managing director of Apollo Hospital group, Hyderabad.
"Patients from Malaysia and Gulf find it much cheaper (coming here) than going to Europe or U.S.," she added.
"Our team of specialists runs a modern cardiac hospital in Yemen," said Devi Shetty, an award winner in assembly line surgery and founder of the Narayana Hrudayalaya.
"India can provide healthcare to this part of the world comfortably if only healthcare is promoted like tourism, and the industry is provided certain facilities," said Reddy.
Source: IANS
200,000-300,000 in India and at Narayana Hrudayalaya, it would be around 125,000.
"It would cost 10 to 20 times this amount in developed countries," he said.
The assembly line surgery concept is what makes the difference in making healthcare cost effective.
On an average, 14 to 15 surgeries are conducted in the operation theatres at this hospital, 25 km from the city. And at least four to five of these patients are newborns.
Even adults from SAARC countries flock to India for healthcare.
Patients from the Middle East and African countries have been regularly coming to Indian cardiac hospitals like Escorts in New Delhi, Apollo in Hyderabad and Chennai, and Chitratirunal in Thiruvananthapuram.
"The maximum number of consultations online with our specialists comes from Pakistan and Malaysia," said Sangita Reddy, managing director of Apollo Hospital group, Hyderabad.
"Patients from Malaysia and Gulf find it much cheaper (coming here) than going to Europe or U.S.," she added.
"Our team of specialists runs a modern cardiac hospital in Yemen," said Devi Shetty, an award winner in assembly line surgery and founder of the Narayana Hrudayalaya.
"India can provide healthcare to this part of the world comfortably if only healthcare is promoted like tourism, and the industry is provided certain facilities," said Reddy.
Source: IANS