The government’s recent announcement on relaxed visa norms for patients from SAARC countries is only the first step, say city doctors, stressing on the need for civic infrastructure development and friendly tourist services
Chennai city has almost always been synonymous with medicine. From 1664, when the first British hospital was set up at Fort St. George, and the 1980s when corporate hospitals began making an appearance, to the present-day, state-of-the art care has always been expected and received here.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent announcement about providing immediate medical visas and an attendant to patients from SAARC countries has been welcomed by the top healthcare providers in the city.
“This is the first step in the right direction,” says Amar Agarwal, chairman of Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospitals. “The number of medical tourists coming to Chennai is only bound to increase now,” he says.
However, experts also point out that the city has some way to go in developing supporting infrastructure and becoming friendlier to patients.
P.V.A. Mohandas, founder of MIOT Hospitals, which sees a number of overseas patients, says facilitation has to begin at the airport itself. “Provisions should be made for wheelchairs and stretchers for patients who need them and there could be a separate queue to fast-track these patients so they do not have to wait too long,” he says.
Most patients are bewildered when they step out of the airport — the traffic, dust and transportation hassles put them off, he says. “Also, for patients from Pakistan, it is more difficult — with the visa and the mandatory reporting to the local police,” says Dr. Mohandas.
Facilities such as pick-ups and drops to airports, translators, help with currency and connectivity, accommodation and good food, all go a long way towards making the experience better for patients, says K. Balaji Singh, chairman, international patients, Sri Ramachandra University, which receives at least 30 overseas patients a month.
“Most patients come to us with medical visas, but a few come on tourist visas which we then have to get changed. It would also help if the visa processing officers are a little more friendly and courteous,” he says.
Doctors point out that while the visa scheme for SAARC countries will help, a large number of patients to Chennai come from West Asia and Africa and providing visas on arrival to them too will go a long way in boosting medical tourism and branding the city internationally as a healthcare destination.
“Of the 43 countries that India has approved visa on arrival for, only two or three are those from where people visit for medical procedures. A lot of patients come from Nigeria. The U.K. is another market, as the waiting period for treatments in that country is very long,” says V.S. Venkatesh, CEO, Apollo White Dental.
Ajit Mullasari, director, cardiology, Madras Medical Mission, says medical tourism is still under-tapped in the country. “As of now, it is primarily driven by individual hospitals and doctors, rather than being an organised sector. We need specific policies for overseas patients and we need a general standard of quality treatment in place. We also do not have health cities — where all kinds of healthcare and accommodation are provided in one place to make it easy on patients. There are huge markets, East Europe being one, which could still be tapped into,” he says.
The hospital sees around 700 foreigners as in-patients every year, and about 1,500 as outpatients. A large number of them are from African countries such as Tanzania, Uganda and Ghana. A lot of the competition Chennai faces is from countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, say experts.
Despite having better doctors, nurses and services here, patients visit the other countries simply due to convenience — the visa processes are easier, airports are better, roads are cleaner and supporting infrastructure is more developed.
A Brookings India report that came out in November says the same thing, pointing out that existing visa norms are arduous and restrictive, driving patients to other destinations. According to the report, less than one-fifth of all international tourists to India are from SAARC countries, but more than half of all foreigners who come for medical treatment are from SAARC countries.
Maldives accounts for the largest number with 59.3 per cent of medical tourists, followed by Afghanistan with 16.5 per cent. This is borne out by a statement from Apollo Hospitals which says a large number of patients from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Pakistan come to India for expert medical treatment, as these countries lack tertiary care.
Another report titled ‘India as a Medical Tourism Hub in SAARC: A Geographical Analysis’ that also came out this year, says that apart from visa hurdles which are especially difficult for patients from Pakistan and Sri Lanka, insurance and cross-border payment problems, and transport and connectivity issues also need to be addressed to boost this sector.
