Learn from the best ,but not the bad health system.
While many critizes Spore health sys,we shall look how
UK people are feeling.
Posted: 15 May 2006 0720 hrs
English patients flying abroad to go under the knife
LONDON: Sick of sky-high prices and lengthy waits for operations,
growing numbers of Britons are going under the surgeon's knife
overseas, in destinations like South Africa, India and eastern
Europe.
Cheaper operations are enticing more than 10,000 Britons per year
abroad, some travelling huge distances to factor in some fun in the
sun -- and still saving on the price of British private sector
surgery.
They range from hip replacements to heart operations to aesthetic
surgery, such as breast enlargements and facelifts.
The British government says waiting times for operations on the
free National Health Service (NHS) are coming down.
But many patients still face delays of several months to have their
operations -- some even years.
Fears about hospital hygiene, including the risk of contracting
antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" like MRSA, are also making
patients consider treatment overseas.
"I was in excruciating pain and all I wanted to do was get rid of
it," said Angela Goldsborough, who flew to Poland for a hip
replacement and four weeks' physiotherapy.
Wary of the NHS, she found her treatment was available in Krakow
for 6,000 pounds (11,180 dollars, 8,740 euros) -- less than a third
of the private cost in Britain.
"I was out in Poland within two weeks," the 74-year-old from west
London told AFP.
"The treatment was fantastic and you could have eaten your food off
the hospital floor."
Barbara Thurgood and Company has been arranging private orthopaedic
treatment in Poland for over a decade.
Thurgood said it was a logical move to create fixed-price packages
offering patients speedy diagnoses and treatment at a cheaper cost
than in Britain.
She told AFP many clients were wealthy professionals capitalising
on the option to go abroad -- including doctors.
Some head further afield for the anonymity of cosmetic surgery and
recuperation abroad.
Lorraine Melvill runs Surgeon and Safari in South Africa, which
describes itself as a world leader in the medical tourism
industry.
"At the time when I started the business I was very aware that this
was a whole new concept," she told AFP.
"Consumers now have choice. There's globalisation in all sorts of
markets, so why not in medicine?"
Reflective of a booming market, Surgeon and Safari has grown 100
percent each year since launching in 1999.
Patients can meet their surgeons in Britain beforehand, and even
add on a safari trip afterwards, with the stress on private patient
care rather than a cheap alternative.
Sonja Evans, 40, took the plunge and flew to South Africa four
years ago, having a tummy tuck on her post-pregnancy saggy belly.
She faced at least a four-year wait on the NHS or a 6,000-pound
bill to go private in Britain.
Instead, she paid 3,700 pounds, including flights.
"I felt terrified before going out there, purely on the grounds of
vanity, but it was the best thing I ever did," the personal
assistant told AFP.
"It transformed me. I went from being really shy to brimming with
self-confidence."
"I would have otherwise waited on the NHS and got more depressed
about how I looked," she said.
Because of the lack of a language barrier, English-speaking
countries like South Africa and India are popular.
Med de Tour flew 70 patients to India last year for surgery and
holidays and 55 have gone so far this year.
Their marketing director, Sahar Ali, said their big advantage was
that British patients trust Indian doctors because so many work in
the NHS.
They quoted open-heart surgery from 5,000 dollars (3,900 euros)
compared with 25,000 dollars in Britain.
Ali said some family doctors were encouraging people to head abroad
while others were set against the idea.
"We feel the NHS should be encouraging us rather than putting up
obstacles: we're easing the burden on them," she told AFP.
Some detractors warn of botched overseas operations, with British
surgeons having to fix the problems.
But there are just as many "horror stories" in Britain as abroad,
Ali said, adding that some of her clients were people whose surgery
in Britain had gone wrong.
The British Association of Plastic Surgeons (BAPS) cautions against
"cut-price" cosmetic surgery anywhere.
"If it's a good quality service it doesn't matter where you get it.
But if costs are cut, then quite often, corners are too,"
spokeswoman Lisa Mangan said.
Former BAPS president Chris Khoo said the association was concerned
about developments "which reduce surgery to a mere commodity" and
warned against a "consumerist approach".
"Surgery can go wrong: cheapest is seldom best. Having an operation
to alter the way you look is not the same as buying a cheap sofa,
which you can return," he warned.
However, as more world-class options come within reach, the exodus
of aching pensioners and people worried about their looks seems set
to grow. - AFP/ir
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
fr
CNA
--only valid for 7 days
2.see
how NHS treating UK people
3.read
BBC reports on NHS
4.remember why Mrs MM Lee has to be rushed back to Spore
after she suffered a stroke in UK few years back?
Doctors at the Royal London advised (MM)Lee to keep his wife there
for three weeks until she stabilised fully, but he preferred to run
the risk of flying her home for 14 hours on Singapore Airlines just
three days after her collapse.
A passenger jet was converted into a "mobile hospital" with two
intensive care nurses, two doctors, oxygen and a drip and flown
from Singapore.
Lee, who like his wife of 56 years was educated at Cambridge, said
of the Royal London: "Once upon a time, it was a wonderful
hospital.
"But after 40-plus years the system cannot deliver. There's no
connection between those in the system and the patients."
lionnoisy note
nly few seats converted for Mrs Lee to
rest,not
the whole plane chartered.So far,Lee family dunt own private
plane.ask SIA fren can tell u how often they met Lee's on
planes
Tuesday November 4,
Row over treatment for Lee Kuan Yew's wife