EDICAL Tourism" has fast started picking up in Jalandhar, with a large number of NRIs making a beeline for hospitals here. For them a trip to Jalandhar serves a dual purpose - getting treatment for serious ailments at a cost which is roughly one-tenth of that in the West and enjoying their holidays along with their families back home in Punjab.This trend has become popular during the past two years. The reason is simple: enormous hike in the cost of treatment in countries like the US, Canada, Holland the UK makes NRIs look back home.
"Many NRI patients come back for treatment as hospitals here have the state-of-the-art medical facilities. 'Back home' factor also gives the NRIs a sense of security. In fact, these days over 70 per cent cases come to India specifically for treatment. The near collapse of the National Health System in the West has made the city a treatment destination," said Dr Harinder Singh Bedi, Executive Director of the Sigma New Life Heart Institute. He claimed that the heart institute branches at Jalandhar and Ludhiana received nearly 30 NRI patients every month.
Dr Charanjit Singh Pruthi, Managing Director of the local BBC Heart Care Centre, said apart from a large number of NRIs who came to the centre for check-up, about 15 NRI patients had undergone bypass and open beating heart surgery at his hospital during the past one and a half years.
Underlining the reason behind the changing scenario, Dr Pruthi said, "Treatment cost is the biggest factor which has forced NRIs to come here for treatment. If in the UK the cost of bypass surgery is about Rs 8.5 lakh, here it is something between Rs 1.25 lakh and Rs 1.75 lakh. Indian doctors are being rated very high even abroad and the NRIs are becoming aware of the professional competence of the Indian doctors."
"In the US, the cost of bronchoscopy is about 100 times more and same is the case with sleep and allergy tests. Moreover, there you have to wait long for your turn. So, NRIs belonging to the Doaba region find city hospitals convenient and affordable," said city-based broncoscopist, Dr H.J. Singh.
Dr Varish of Vardaan Hospital and Child Care Centre said childless couples from countries as far as Canada, Australia and the United States had been coming to the Vardaan centre for treatment through the IVF technique. "So far, 16 couples have had successful treatment of their infertility problem at our hospital. If they had tried for the treatment abroad, the cost would have been almost prohibitive," explained Dr Varish.
The NRIs also come to the city to undergo cosmetic surgery and dentistry treatment, the costs of which are skyrocketing in the western countries. " In the NRI season (winters), on an average, we receive 20 patients a day. If a denture costs Rs 5000 here, the same can be had in the West for a whopping Rs 50,000 or even more. So, a large number of the NRIs have started coming to Punjab, particularly Jalandhar, for treatment and cosmetic surgery," said Dr Anju Sharma, a dentist running her clinic near the local Income Tax Officers' Colony.
