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Caribbean Connection

Taiwan  :

Tourism, medical services and the wellness sectors are aligning. Together, they make up an estimated 22 percent of the global gross domestic product, asserted a speaker at the World Medical Tourism Congress, hosted in Taipei by Taiwan’s External Trade Development Council.

Speaking to hundreds of tourism and medical specialists from Asia and participants from other regions, Lelei LeLaulu, special advisor to the World Bank Group, said the medical sector must learn from the hospitality sector if it is to prosper in the rapidly changing global medical tourism market.

LeLaulu said medical tourism clinics need to begin to “stop treating people as patients and treat their guests as customers” with special needs and requirements. “It’s no longer sufficient to provide just good medicine; you also have to provide a caring and responsive environment in an attractive destination,” said Lelaulu”. He lauded airports in Taiwan, which had special medical tourism welcome facilities, and Bangkok, which had four such areas.

LeLaulu, also a public relations consultant with Marketplace Excellence, pointed to Health City Cayman Islands as a model for the medical tourism industry.

Shomari Scott

“This new facility in the Cayman Islands has embraced sustainability and has done its utmost to ensure it is a palpable benefit to the host community and not a drain on local resources,” asserted LeLaulu.

Speaking to the Congress on the topic of “Expanding the Medical Tourism Market Through Brand Awareness and Diversification of Marketing Techniques,” LeLaulu held up the Cayman Islands’ facility as a 21st century model for medical care. In sharp contrast to failed attempts to build underground clinics in other parts of the world, he said Health City Cayman Islands regards light as therapeutic and ensures that patient rooms have ample natural light and extensive views of the carefully landscaped grounds.

Shomari Scott, marketing director of Health City Cayman Islands, confirmed that the ultra-modern facility has gone to great lengths to ensure all patient rooms have large windows to let in the maximum amount of light. The landscaping, he added, has its own 20-year development plan.

“The iconic lady, Margaret Barwick, who did the initial landscaping, handed us a large book detailing plantings and land sculpting, which she said were to be followed way after her passing on,” said Scott.

Health City Cayman Islands began operations in April of this year with a state-of-the-art, tertiary care hospital in Grand Cayman as a center of excellence in cardiac surgery, cardiology, orthopedics, pulmonary and pediatric endocrinology. Over the next decade, the hospital plans to expand to a 2,000-bed facility, providing care in major specialties, including neurology, oncology and other cutting-edge tertiary care disciplines. The complex also plans to have a medical university and an assisted-care living community.

Health City Cayman Islands is the vision of famed Indian heart surgeon Dr. Devi Shetty. As chairman of Narayana Health, he oversees a network of 26 hospitals across India.

Narayana Health is joined in the first phase of the project by Ascension, the largest private, not-for-profit, faith-based health system in the United States.

source: http://www.amsterdamnews.com / Amsterdam News / Home> Carribean Connection / July 03rd, 2014

Nairobi :

Private practitioners in the health sector are urging the government to identify medical tourism as a national industry, viewing it as a rapidly growing practice to generate revenue.

Pathway International Chief Executive Officer Simon Karo says having the country as a preferred health and medical destination is an avenue to boost tourism by welcoming people from around the world seeking remedy for a range of medical needs which may include both critical health services as well as cosmetic and remedial care.

“This has been a global phenomenon that has been there for years, it is only now that we are beginning to coin and phrase it. It is a growing field and I see it been the key pillar especially in vision 2030 while other traditional tourism suffers unfortunately. Though we can do a lot more to be the medical hub of the region,” he said.

“The government should assist the private sector to help build medical travel into the country by faster processing of patients into the country and also help us build relations not only with the public hospitals but also private hospitals. About 80 percent of the revenue that the medical tourists would spend automatically goes to the hospitals. Both the government and the hospitals need to open up to these benefits of medical travel especially inbound medical travel which will generate more income to the economy.”

Karo says the government should look into the areas of medical charges and hospitalisation costs as well as equipped and well-staffed hospitals as a way of wooing more medical tourists.

“Most private hospitals abroad offer accommodation ranging from comfortable to luxurious, including private rooms and suites. Meals are included and rates vary depending on the level of service required as some establishment offer personal butlers or full-time private nurses. Sleep-in facilities can also be easily provided for travelling companions. All avenues we should consider. One thing we should not forget is that these patients have the opportunity to enjoy sightseeing and other tourist activities during their recuperation and convalescence,” he explained.

He says despite the fact that medical tourism is preferred in developing countries where the expense of medical care is less costly, most patients consider treatments abroad.

Salvyia Rukungu a patient who was treated for a brain tumour says cost of medical treatment in the country is one of the reasons why she and her family sought treatment elsewhere.

“I did not know where to begin when planning my medical trip, my procedure was very expensive in the country and I did not find doctors who were knowledgeable on the treatment, so we decided to go elsewhere with better doctors and the latest technology. My family and I are truly grateful my procedure was very successful. I believe the government should put in more effort to ensure that medical procedures are available as well as doctors,” she said.

source: http://www.allafrica.com / All Africa / Home> East Africa > Health>Kenya> Travel / Capital FM / by Victoria Kioko / July 03rd, 2014