Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Muscat: The Indian Embassy in Oman recorded a 222 per cent jump in the number of medical visas issued till the end of August this year, compared with a year ago, data from the embassy revealed.
Until the end of August, 14,585 medical and medical attendant visas had been issued by the Indian embassy. In 2015, it was only 4,530 during the same period.
“Out of the 14,585, we can say that 95 per cent are Omanis, who travel to India for medical treatment. The rest are Yemenis, Bangladeshis and Indonesians,” a senior official from the embassy said.
“Yemenis used to get visas from Sanaa earlier. Following the war, the Indian embassy has closed its operations there. Now, the Yemenis either have to go to Djibouti or come to Oman. For them, it is more comfortable coming to Oman, so they do so and from here they travel to India for treatment,” the senior official added.
Recent reports in India revealed that while the number of medical visas issued in 2014 was 75,671, it surged to 134,344 in 2015, reflecting an almost 80 per cent increase.
“During the first six months of 2016, the number of medical visas issued by India numbered 96,856. The five important source countries in 2015 were Oman, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Iran,” the report added.
According to Indra Mani Pandey, the Indian ambassador to the Sultanate, Omanis and other foreign nationals travel to India for medical treatment because India has excellent healthcare facilities.
“Indian doctors are well-known for their competence and experience and the cost of medical treatment in India is much lower when compared with other countries,” the ambassador explained.
However, the number of tourist visas issued has declined during the same period from 61,124 to 52,939.
“There is, therefore, only a nominal increase in the total visas issued by the embassy during this period, compared with last year. It is therefore obvious that many Omanis, who earlier went to India on tourist visas, have now changed them to medical visas. This trend may change during the remaining four months of the year,” the ambassador added.
In 2015, medical visas were made mandatory for those who were travelling to India for medical needs.
A relative of an Omani cancer patient who went to India said they had to travel to India for treatment on an emergency basis.
“We didn’t want it (the treatment) to be delayed. Moreover, the patient was not feeling confident about the consultation here in Oman. So we travelled to India. However, unfortunately, he passed away there because it was too late to treat him,” the relative added.
Dr Rohil Raghavan, director of Lifeline Hospitals in Oman, said for certain treatments, such as those involving Oncology, Neurology and Gastroenterology, the facilities available at hospitals in India are the best and the medics in these fields are highly skilled too.
“So, in some cases, which need extra attention, we refer the patients to seek treatment in India,” Raghavan added.
“Earlier, people from here used to travel to Europe. But due to the current situation in Europe and as it is more expensive, people find India is the best option for addressing medical problem,” he stated.
Meanwhile, K T Rabeeullah, chairman and managing director of the Shifa Al Jazeera Medical Group, who is going to open two hospitals in Oman before the end of this year, said they will be have a special desk to facilitate medical tourism for those who need it.
“We have tied up with the Baby Memorial Hospital (BMH) in Kerala. It is one of the best multi-specialty hospitals in India, with more than 40 surgical units and 800 beds. Along with us they will be able to meet the medical tourists’ needs,” Rabeeullah said.
