Lokmanya, Oman clinics in med tourism deal

In a move that will put Pune on the medical tourism map of the country, Chinchwad (Pune) based Lokmanya Hospital has signed a memorandum of understanding with multiple private clinics in the Sultanate of Oman for treatment of these clinics in Pune.

Executive medical director and trustee of Lokmanya Hospital Dr Narendra Vaidya told media persons on Thursday that the hospital will specialise in knee joint replacement and minimal invasive laser spine surgeries and also make elaborate arrangements for the rehabilitation of the patients. The hospital will also perform cancer and cardiac and cardio-thoratic surgeries, he added.

Vaidya said Lokmanya Hospital's consistent performance in the field of joint replacement using the internationally standardised hi-flex knee has been the chief advantage for the global patients. The hospital has a capacity to treat 25 patients every month, with an average stay of six days.

According to Vaidya there is a great pressure on the public health system in the Gulf countries as the number of patients needing treatment far exceeds the availability. "The patients are therefore going to places like Bangkok or Malaysia where they pay five times what they would pay in India," he said.

According to the arrangement reached between the health ministry of the Sultanate of Oman, the poly clinics in Oman will undertake the preliminery examination of the patients and then direct them to Lokmanya Hospital after considering the estimate of treatment costs. "We are also in talks with other nations in the Gulf region and hope to reach some arrangement next year," Vaidya said. The hospital has been treating patients from many other countries including Korea, US and Israel.

Commenting on the current trend in medical tourism, Vaidya said about 1.25 lakh patients went to Bangkok last year as compared to about 6000 who came to India. The country still lacks the infrastructure and hospitality facility that go with medical tourism, he said. Vaidya said the hospital plans to eventually run a separate section for joint replacement and rehabilitation at its Nigdi campus.