Shetty hospital touts for Canadian business

Health City Cayman Islands, which opened in East End two years ago and was heralded as the cornerstone of Cayman’s medical tourism sector, has opened an office in Canada to attract patients who are on long waiting lists for non-emergency procedures. The hospital received accreditation from the Joint Commission International last May, paving the way to target the North American market. However, it was criticised last month in the Public Accounts Committee for not living up to expectations in terms of patient numbers and the expected local economic boost.

Although officials said in a release this week that the hospital has treated hundreds of patients from the US market, expectations had been for more significant numbers. The issue over how government had justified the deal it struck with the hospital to persuade the leading Indian heart surgeon, Dr Devi Shetty, to pick Cayman for his first hospital outside his country was discussed by PAC when they examined a critical report by the Office of the Auditor General. The closed-door deal over the development of Health City that was negotiated by Cabinet members was described in an audit case study as unlawful.

The hospital was given hundreds of millions of dollars in tax, duty and fee concessions and the government was also obligated to spend public cash on upgrading infrastructure. At the time, the agreement was justified by the UDP government by expectations that the hospital would trigger a new economic boom. However, at a recent PAC meeting to examine the OAG report on how government handles development, the members noted that this boom had failed to materialise.

Apparently making an effort to live up to expectations, HCCI said there were more than 113,000 people in Ontario on waiting lists for hip replacements, knee replacements, cataract operations and hysterectomies who have to wait an average of 194 days before receiving their procedure. Therefore, despite the free health care available in Canada, the team at the Shetty hospital is hoping to attract Canadian patients willing to pay for their surgery to speed things up.

“While we are known for our expertise in cardiac surgery, we also have outstanding surgeons in high need areas such as orthopaedic and bariatric procedures,” said Dr Chandy Abraham, CEO and Head of Medical Services at Health City Cayman Islands. “We have the capacity, the skills and the facilities to treat patients from Canada and around the globe.”

The new Canadian office will field general inquiries about Health City Cayman Islands, support patients’ journeys to and from the Cayman Islands, coordinate consultations with HCCI physicians and patient care teams, connect with Canadian healthcare providers to ensure continuity of care, and secure travel arrangements as well as translation services where necessary, officials said.(CNS)

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