Gujarat government to infuse new life into medical tourism in state

With Gujarat emerging as one of the preferred healthcare destinations in the county, the government is looking to promote the medical tourism concept in the state.

To begin with, it will send copies of a booklet, 'Gujarat medical tourism', to all embassies with the aim of attracting maximum "medical tourists" to the country.

A major reason behind the medical tourism gaining prominence in India, especially in Gujarat, is the high cost of medical treatment in the US and Europe.

The National Health Survey in the UK said the waiting list period in various specialities in the UK for both in-patients and out-patients is between three weeks to one year.

The cost of medical treatment in India is about one-third of that in the UK or the US.

The hospital industry in the country, which is growing at a fast pace, is pegged at Rs one lakh crore.

Gujarat alone contributes to between 25 and 31 per cent of this figure, said officials of Apollo hospital, Ahmedabad, which has partnered with Vedic India, to promote medical tourism in the county.

Over 80,000 NRIs, a majority of whom are from Gujarat, visit India every year to get medical treatment.

The medical tourism industry has been growing annually at 30 per cent and is estimated to be at Rs 1,500 crore.

Mukesh Shah, MD, Krishna Heart Institute, a super speciality hospital in Ahmedabad, said, "Ahmedabad is fast emerging as a preferred destination for cardiac healthcare in the international map."

Shah said earlier, Chennai and Mumbai were the preferred destinations, but now Ahmedabad and Gujarat are very popular.

Over 70 per cent NRGs in the US, the UK and even the Gulf countries are aware of Krishna Institute, he said.

Dinesh Patel, managing director of Sterling Hospital in Ahmedabad, said while non resident Gujaratis form a sizable chunk of all NRIs, until a few years ago, there were very few super-speciality medical centres.

"These have come up in a big way over the past couple of years and we have been experiencing a spurt in NRIs seeking medical treatment at Sterling," Patel said.

He said heart surgery and more recently, joint replacement, are in demand by NRIs in Gujarat.

Some of the multi-speciality facilities including heart surgery, joint replacement surgery, cosmetic surgery, laproscopy and neuro surgery are available at Apollo, Jivraj Mehta, Rajashtan, SAL and Sterling hospitals, all located at Ahmedabad along with Bhailal Amin and Unity hospitals at Vadodara and Dhakan hospital and Sheth P T General Hospital at Rajkot and Surat, respectively.

Similarly, the Gujarat Cancer Research Institute in Ahmedabad, Kailash Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Vadodara and Anilaben Kothari Cancer Bhawan at Rajkot offer specialised treatment for cancer.

For cardiac care, Krishna Heart Institute, U N Mehta Institute of Cardiology and Mahavir Cardiac Hospital are speciality hospitals, while the Retina Foundation in Ahmedabad is known the world over for eye care.

Shalby Hospital in Ahmedabad specialises in joint replacement surgeries and the Institute of Kidney Diseases and Research Centre in the Civil hospital campus is a speciality hospital for kidney diseases. State health minister I K Jadeja, on the occasion of releasing of the booklets, said the government will fully harness this opportunity to promote medical tourism.

"We will distribute this booklet at all embassies and among international flight operators in a bid to promote this concept in Gujarat," he said.