India favourite medical destination for Omanis
AFTAB H. KOLA
Wed Jun 01 2011 09:31:28 GMT+0400 (Arabian Standard Time) Oman Time
MUSCAT: India is fast emerging as one of the leading medical tourism destinations in the world. This fact was perhaps amply demonstrated when US President Barack Obama recently spelled out his aim to change the US healthcare system to discourage Americans from seeking medical treatment in India!
Omani patients, on the other hand, are taking full advantage of Indias emergence as a medical tourism hotspot and are returning happy after receiving treatment in a country which is just a few hours away from here.
Moza Nasser Al Waili, an Omani woman patient of carcinoma, was taken to Max Health Care Hospital in New Delhi early this year by her son Sulaiman Salim Abdullah Al Waili, for treatment. After a month of successful treatment, she was back to Oman.
Says Sulaiman: She was thoroughly investigated before the surgery was planned. She was rehabilitated for two weeks after the surgery. The treatment went off well. Her health has improved a lot. We are very satisfied with the treatment and all the assistance given through the Medicare Tourism department of Travel Point. We spent RO5,000.
Such cases of successful and affordable treatment of Omani patients in India abound now. Little wonder that India has emerged as a favourite medical destination for Omanis.
Zaid Al Siyabi, a senior official at the Department of Treatment Abroad, Ministry of Health, Oman, says that out of 653 patients sent by the ministry for treatment abroad in 2010, 550 patients opted for India.
Among the other countries we send our patients to include the UK, Germany, Thailand, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Spain, France, Netherlands, and the UAE, he stated.
Besides the Ministry of Health, other government agencies like the Royal Oman Police, Royal Guard of Oman, Diwan of Royal Court Affairs and a number of private agencies regularly fly patients from Oman to India and other countries for treatment.
According to embassy of India, a total of 1,018 Omani nationals obtained medical visas from the embassy in 2010, and 778 took medical attendant visas to accompany them during their treatment period in India during the same period.
In the period from January to April 2011, as many as 228 Omani nationals have already obtained medical visas and 189 have obtained medical attendant visas to accompany them.
A 10 per cent increase in the number of medical visa seekers from Oman to India is expected in the current year as compared to last year.
As one can apply for Indian medical visas throughout the year, the applications are not strictly restricted to the period June to August of any particular year.
Most of the medical visa seekers visit India to have second medical opinion and where needed, for higher grades of surgeries. There has also been a significant increase in the number of visa seekers for infertility treatment in India.
One of the factors behind this trend is that while hospitals in India provide high-quality care, the charges are comparatively less compared to other countries.
Says S. M. Aslam, business development manager at Medicare Tourism: India is a well known country for Omani citizens in terms of trade and treatment. They are comfortable with the culture and food in India; travelling is easy.
Adds Aslam: A large number of patients go for orthopaedic (spine scoliosis, total hip replacement, and knee replacement), neurosurgery (brain tumours, Wolf Parkinson Syndrome, nerve disease, cerebral palsy, etc.), cancer treatment (surgical treatment of cancer tumours, chemotherapy and radio therapy, bone marrow transplant, etc.), ophthalmology (laser surgery, retinal detachment, squint correction, etc.), cardiac (all kind of cardiac surgeries), PTCA (electro physiological studies), and rehabilitation cosmetic surgeries and treatment.
Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune are the major hubs for standard surgical procedures, contributing about 80 per cent of the total medical tourism revenue. South India, Kerala in particular, gets top billing among those looking for alternative therapies such as Ayurveda.
Among some players in the medical tourism attracting international tourists are Escorts, Wockhardt, Apollo Hospital, Indraprastha hospital, Apollo, Hinduja, Jaslok, Fortis, Max, Sancheti, Arya Vaidya Sala (ayurvedic), Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Narayana Hurdalaya, etc.
An Indian embassy official sums up: India is popular among Omani nationals for a variety of reasons like financial affordability, the presence of Asian social milieu, state-of-the-art facilities in major world class hospitals spread all over India, easy air transport connectivity, availability of good banking facilities, proximity to the mainland Oman, and so on.
The official said that a list of top Indian hospitals imparting world class medical facilities is available in hard copy at the embassy which can be collected from there.
TimesofOman.com
AFTAB H. KOLA
Wed Jun 01 2011 09:31:28 GMT+0400 (Arabian Standard Time) Oman Time
MUSCAT: India is fast emerging as one of the leading medical tourism destinations in the world. This fact was perhaps amply demonstrated when US President Barack Obama recently spelled out his aim to change the US healthcare system to discourage Americans from seeking medical treatment in India!
Omani patients, on the other hand, are taking full advantage of Indias emergence as a medical tourism hotspot and are returning happy after receiving treatment in a country which is just a few hours away from here.
Moza Nasser Al Waili, an Omani woman patient of carcinoma, was taken to Max Health Care Hospital in New Delhi early this year by her son Sulaiman Salim Abdullah Al Waili, for treatment. After a month of successful treatment, she was back to Oman.
Says Sulaiman: She was thoroughly investigated before the surgery was planned. She was rehabilitated for two weeks after the surgery. The treatment went off well. Her health has improved a lot. We are very satisfied with the treatment and all the assistance given through the Medicare Tourism department of Travel Point. We spent RO5,000.
Such cases of successful and affordable treatment of Omani patients in India abound now. Little wonder that India has emerged as a favourite medical destination for Omanis.
Zaid Al Siyabi, a senior official at the Department of Treatment Abroad, Ministry of Health, Oman, says that out of 653 patients sent by the ministry for treatment abroad in 2010, 550 patients opted for India.
Among the other countries we send our patients to include the UK, Germany, Thailand, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Spain, France, Netherlands, and the UAE, he stated.
Besides the Ministry of Health, other government agencies like the Royal Oman Police, Royal Guard of Oman, Diwan of Royal Court Affairs and a number of private agencies regularly fly patients from Oman to India and other countries for treatment.
According to embassy of India, a total of 1,018 Omani nationals obtained medical visas from the embassy in 2010, and 778 took medical attendant visas to accompany them during their treatment period in India during the same period.
In the period from January to April 2011, as many as 228 Omani nationals have already obtained medical visas and 189 have obtained medical attendant visas to accompany them.
A 10 per cent increase in the number of medical visa seekers from Oman to India is expected in the current year as compared to last year.
As one can apply for Indian medical visas throughout the year, the applications are not strictly restricted to the period June to August of any particular year.
Most of the medical visa seekers visit India to have second medical opinion and where needed, for higher grades of surgeries. There has also been a significant increase in the number of visa seekers for infertility treatment in India.
One of the factors behind this trend is that while hospitals in India provide high-quality care, the charges are comparatively less compared to other countries.
Says S. M. Aslam, business development manager at Medicare Tourism: India is a well known country for Omani citizens in terms of trade and treatment. They are comfortable with the culture and food in India; travelling is easy.
Adds Aslam: A large number of patients go for orthopaedic (spine scoliosis, total hip replacement, and knee replacement), neurosurgery (brain tumours, Wolf Parkinson Syndrome, nerve disease, cerebral palsy, etc.), cancer treatment (surgical treatment of cancer tumours, chemotherapy and radio therapy, bone marrow transplant, etc.), ophthalmology (laser surgery, retinal detachment, squint correction, etc.), cardiac (all kind of cardiac surgeries), PTCA (electro physiological studies), and rehabilitation cosmetic surgeries and treatment.
Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune are the major hubs for standard surgical procedures, contributing about 80 per cent of the total medical tourism revenue. South India, Kerala in particular, gets top billing among those looking for alternative therapies such as Ayurveda.
Among some players in the medical tourism attracting international tourists are Escorts, Wockhardt, Apollo Hospital, Indraprastha hospital, Apollo, Hinduja, Jaslok, Fortis, Max, Sancheti, Arya Vaidya Sala (ayurvedic), Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Narayana Hurdalaya, etc.
An Indian embassy official sums up: India is popular among Omani nationals for a variety of reasons like financial affordability, the presence of Asian social milieu, state-of-the-art facilities in major world class hospitals spread all over India, easy air transport connectivity, availability of good banking facilities, proximity to the mainland Oman, and so on.
The official said that a list of top Indian hospitals imparting world class medical facilities is available in hard copy at the embassy which can be collected from there.
TimesofOman.com
