Medical tourism’s valuable service

THOSE in the medical tourism sector have defended the industry, and the life-saving services they offer patients from all over the continent.

The companies were responding to comments made at a recent India-Africa partnership conclave in Delhi at a session titled “Future-proofing Africa’s development with world-class education and healthcare systems”.

Dr Charudutta Achyut Apte, the chair and managing director of Sahyadri Hospitals, said during the forum that countries in southern Africa like Swaziland and Zimbabwe could treat many more patients with the money that was used to send patients to South Africa.

He said many southern African countries relied on South Africa in cases involving advanced or specialist care because of its advanced healthcare infrastructure.

Apte said the healthcare systems of these countries needed upgrading, and seeking treatment in a country like South Africa was not a solution.

Director and founder of Medical Tourism SA, Faith Cartwright, said South African medical centres were equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, which was one of the reasons people from all over the continent continued to seek treatment here.

“It’s a great idea to invest in the medical care on offer in those countries, but until these countries reach our level of development, South Africa is meeting their medical needs.”

She said patients from other African countries sought many different medical services in South Africa, including in-vitro fertilisation, cancer treatments, spine treatments, heart surgery, eye treatments, dentistry, cosmetic surgery, MRIs and gastric treatments.

People from certain African countries stood to be stigmatised for seeking fertility treatment and many of these countries did not offer fertility treatments, she said.

“It’s common for these people to view the services they receive in South Africa as being superior to those offered in their own countries. It’s a different mindset.”

The organisation has assisted people from all over Africa, including Angola, Nigeria, Uganda, Congo, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, Swaziland and Tanzania.

The Nurture Egg Donor programme said South Africa had remained at the forefront of medical innovation and today boasts first-class fertility clinics and the latest technology allowing for state-of-theart fertility treatment.