Manipal, India (CU)_ Covid-19 harmed the treatments of patients who opted to travel to India for more advanced therapies and surgeries. The situation is progressively normalizing as India’s overseas travel restrictions have been relaxed. However, medical tourism witnessed significant setbacks in the beginning of the pandemic, with patients forced to postpone operations and other procedures owing to travel restrictions.
This had a detrimental effect on several lives and exacerbated patients’ ailments, increasing the risk of morbidity and death related to curable and avoidable health issues. Additionally, the delay led to the reported excess fatalities indirectly associated with Covid-19. Following the ease of travel restrictions, numerous hospitals have expanded their services to overseas patients seeking treatment in India for their medical ailments.
Manipal Hospital is asking patients not to postpone their treatments and procedures any longer. Several international patients are getting healthcare services at the facility, which adheres to stringent safety requirements. Simultaneously, the Manipal Overseas Patient Care Center offers exceptional services to its foreign patients, including visa assistance, transportation, and insurance.
Even during the pandemic times, the hospital successfully treated patients who required kidney, liver, or heart transplant surgeries. Following the reopening of international borders, the hospital may now employ its air ambulance services to transport patients across nations.
Karthik Rajagopal, Chief Operating Officer of Manipal Hospital Enterprise, expressed delight over the resumption of medical tourism in the country. He said, “Many patients had to postpone their treatments due to the pandemic, but now that the Covid cases in India have been brought under control and international crossings are opening, we are glad to offer our services to our overseas patients”.
The CEO added, “It is now critical to recognise that delaying both emergency and routine medical care will increase the danger of the underlying diseases worsening and may result in mortality. With the opening of international borders, we can now continue to assist overseas patients who have had their procedures postponed due to the pandemic and travel restrictions.”
As the virus fades and the situation improves, the medical tourism sector is gradually improving and people begin returning for treatments that had to be postponed owing to the outbreak. Patients suffering from chronic diseases and those require organ transplants are now increasingly seeking treatment in other nations.
