Hosps keep wary eye on Bangla patients’ movement to SE Asia
Times of India | 9 August 2024
Kolkata: The first signs of an exodus of Bangladeshi patients to hospitals in Southeast Asia — following travel disruptions between Dhaka and Kolkata — have become apparent. All Indian visa application centres in Bangladesh were shut down on Thursday and no new patient has arrived in Kolkata since at least last Saturday, two days before the Bangladesh govt fell on Monday.Bangladeshi patients currently admitted at several city hospitals had arrived before the last round of violence that severely disrupted transport links.
Kolkata hospitals said that while scores of appointments had been scheduled till mid-Aug, around 80% have been cancelled and patients are now keen to move to Singapore and Bangkok, which have always been preferred by some Bangladeshi patients.
“Eventually, a significant number of these patients will travel to Southeast Asia since coming to Kolkata is now difficult. While many have medical visas, travelling by road is not safe now. Kolkata provides the cheapest treatment but those who can afford or can’t defer treatment will move to other places,” said Rupak Barua, president of Association of Hospitals of Eastern India (AHEI).
Monsur Alam from Barishal, who underwent a laser kidney stone surgery, was discharged on Wednesday from a south Kolkata hospital. Due to his financial difficulties, the management decided to waive some charges. “We were waiting for money to arrive through a relative who couldn’t travel. We will now continue his treatment either at Chennai or in Singapore,” said a family member.
Abul Kalam Azad from Dhaka had an appointment with a gastroenterologist at BP Poddar Hospital on Wednesday. But with travel disruptions, he has requested it be converted to an online OPD consultation.
Peerless Hospital, which gets around 180 OPD patients from Bangladesh every day, got just 50 on Wednesday. “These are patients who had arrived in Kolkata over the last month. None has arrived since last weekend. We expect the number of patients to drop further, depending on the situation at the border. Since most travel by road, the flow will not improve till bus and train services normalize. Those who can afford will move to south India or Bangkok,” said Peerless Hospital CEO Sudipta Mitra.
Narayana Hospitals have seen a drop across its hospitals in Kolkata and south Indian cities. “Bangladeshi patients in India are not being able to access funds, adding to the problem,” said Naraya COO R Venkatesh.
Southeast Asian countries, like Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, attract a lot of medical tourists from rest of Asia, said Indian Chamber of Commerce national healthcare chairman Prashant Sharma. “While Bangladesh is the only source of medical tourism in Kolkata, there are more flights from Bangladesh to Thailand and Malaysia that attract a chunk of patients,” said Sharma, also MD, Charnock Hospital.
The impact could be temporary, said Manipal Hospitals MD & CEO Dilip Jose. “Given the visa process and travel logistics, there is a lag between the intent and the actual travel. Now that visa issuance has been halted, the effect of that in terms of number of patients will be visible after a few weeks. Since the medical value travel is essentially for elective treatments, there is always a chance of the cases returning once the situation normalizes.”