THE TRAVEL firm Thomas Cook will offer "sun and surgery" package deals to India for British patients who are tired of waiting for operations in Britain`s National Health System (NHS).
Thomas Cook hopes that within the next few months, it will be offering deals that include flights, operations, accommodation in a private hospital and even recuperation time on the beach.
The firm, said sources, is using Britain to test the market.
Standards in many Indian private hospitals are often found to be better than in many British NHS facilities, said officials of the travel company. Costs are also much lower than in private hospitals in Britain.
Many Britons complain they have to wait long periods for surgery in the NHS system.
"What we want to offer are healthcare holidays where people can go and have their operations in hospitals recommended to them in our brochures," said Ameeta Munshi, Thomas Cook`s spokesperson in India.
"This is going to be affordable and for anyone who is in pain and can`t be treated on the NHS, the fact that healthcare is so much cheaper here anyway means the whole deal is going to be very attractive," she said.
"Our lawyers and insurance experts are looking over the final details but we would expect to launch the deals within the next two to three months," Munshi said.
Cheaper medical costs lured up to 150,000 international visitors to India last year, with around 400 from Britain, or a rise of 15 per cent in British patients in one year.
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ain't socialized medicine grand...