The Hindu : Front Page : Medical tourism on upswing in Coimbatore

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 04, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Medical tourism on upswing in Coimbatore

K.V. Prasad

But poor flights and infrastructure act as a damper

COIMBATORE: They are coming from the land of the world's super power, the US, oil-rich Gulf and even from New Zealand. Hospitals here are cashing in on medical tourism that is set to run a close second to - if not rival - the Information Technology boom taking shape.

But are they fully happy yet? Not quite. Coimbatore has to compete with Chennai and Bangalore in expertise, surgical facilities and also those for recuperation. Coimbatore has all these that match the ones in Chennai and Bangalore, doctors say. But, the other two score heavily over Coimbatore with their direct flight link with most of the countries.

Consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Sri Ramakrishna Hospital G. Balasubramaniam says: "In some areas, we are even better than Bangalore. But, unfortunately, we do not have direct international flights."

The only international flight that touches Coimbatore is the one from Sharjah. Those who come from the US, Europe and South East Asia have to come through Chennai, Mumbai or Bangalore. Doctors quoting some of the foreign patients say that the wait for a connecting flight to Coimbatore is agonising. Things will have to progress fast from here, they say.

Accommodation

Not only airlink but hotels with world class standards are also needed, hospitals say. Though many of them have air-conditioned rooms on their premises for the `guest-patient', only one or two hotels in the city can measure up to their expectations. But those patients looking to save may be happy with cheaper accommodation, says Dr. Balasubramaniam. A woman from the US who underwent hip resurfacing in Chennai in January is now coming to him for a similar surgery. Hotels are more expensive there. "They save at least $ 2000 (about Rs 90,000) by availing cheaper accommodation."

Former health panel convenor of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and dean of G. Kuppusamy Naidu Memorial Hospital, Ramkumar Raghupathy, says: "A meeting was held very recently on the need for more infrastructure such as flights and hotels and also on sanitation in the city. All these are being pursued very closely."

Roads have to be good, doctors assert. Foreign patients with bone and joint problems can land in trouble when they actually come for a cure.

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