Czech Republic's Medical Tourism At The ‘Cutting Edge’

Recent media attention around Ashya King, the five-year old British boy, who travelled to Prague this summer for proton therapy treatment certainly put the spotlight firmly on the Czech Republic and its reputation for cutting-edge medical treatments.
But such treatments and medical tourism in general in the Czech Republic are nothing new. With its many spa towns it has a long had a tradition as a popular health destination. Famous individuals including the likes of King Edward VII and Russian Tsar Nicholas II, who visited Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) in the Karlovy Vary region during its 'golden' era, provide something of a Royal seal of approval. Add to that the founder of modern genetics, Johann Mendel, worked in Brno, the country’s second largest city.
While in recent years the Czech Republic has become known as a popular location for cosmetic surgery, increasingly today it is recognised for fertility treatment and gaining a reputation for orthopaedic surgery including - knee and hip replacements - as well as oncology and eye surgery. The country too has one of the lowest infant death rates in the world.
Vítězslav Vavroušek, deputy Minister of Health in the Czech Republic, commenting recently in a Czech Tourism guide (www.czechtourism.com) stated: “Many countries say that they are a popular medical tourism destination but only a few countries actually have something to offer. It is not only about first rate diagnostics, the most modern and unique treatment methods or a medical staff that speak foreign languages, it is also about safety, strict rules and hygiene.”
Against this backdrop the Czech embassy in London held a reception this October to explain more about leading private health care facilities in the country and how NHS patients on waiting lists in the UK can receive high quality treatment and get reimbursed on the costs. In some cases the savings can be around 60% versus surgical operations performed on the NHS.
Currently there around 3.2 million people in the UK on NHS waiting lists, with some having to wait around 2-3 years for certain operations. Perhaps not surprising therefore that more people from Britain are considering the merits of surgery overseas.
Interest in this area has also ramped up following introduction of the EU Directive on Cross-Border Healthcare (25 October 2013), which gives the right for NHS patients to receive treatment anywhere in Europe. Patients typically pay upfront and then seek reimbursement after they return home. And, savings for the NHS system could run to millions of pounds.
It is worth noting that this Directive does not cover treatments outside the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes EU countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. For example, if you wanted to have a particular surgery or drug treatment in the US as the NHS does not provide it, you would have to fund it yourself. Further, it does not cover treatments that one would not be entitled to receive under the NHS.
Overseas Medical Tourism Market Expanding
While there are no official figures on the medical tourism market, it has been estimated that travelling abroad for medical purposes is gaining traction and expanding at a double-digit percentage rate annually. According to researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and York University about 63,000 people from the UK travelled to hospitals and clinics abroad in 2010. A study in 2007 estimated the number at around 50,000.
Globally the medical tourism market is growing at a rate of 15%-25%, according to the US organisation Patients Beyond Borders, with some 900,000 Americans estimated to have travelled outside the US for medical care in 2013. By 2015 turnover for the industry is projected to reach some US$130 billion (c.£80bn) according to consultancy KPMG.
Presenting at the embassy was Dr Jitka Kellnerová, CEO of SurGal Clinic, one of the country’s leading centres for medical treatment located in Brno, Southern Moravia. Explaining the clinic’s origins and concept she said: “An ambitious goal lay behind the idea to establish SurGal, which was to create facilities that compete with celebrated top private clients in Switzerland and Canada. Our mission is to offer the latest medical technologies and techniques.”
The hospital underwent a three-year transformation between 2008 and 2011 costing an estimated of CZkr500 million (c.£17m). It was the first in the Czech Republic to install 3-D laparoscope (i.e. imaging), enabling operations to be undertaken significantly faster and with complete safety. Also offered on site are specific centres for orthopaedic, urology, sports medicine and sports traumatology, weight-loss surgery as well as arm and hand surgery.
Furthermore, the clinic was the first hospital in the Czech Republic to bring Visionnaire for knee replacements (technology manufactured by Smith & Nephew), CORES-1S and Oxinium implants - the latter for hip and knee implants that will last thirty years compared to the standard 15 years. The orthopaedic theatres are fully digitised and connected to PACS (digital picture archiving and communication system).
Recently SurGal partnered with Operations Abroad Worldwide, the UK’s leading arranger of overseas medical operations based in Manchester. Since 1999 the company has arranged around 40,000 procedures in various countries. Today it works with 80 hospitals in forty countries. The majority of procedures the firm handles are orthopaedic procedures, in particular hip and knee replacements and arthroscopies, a type of keyhole surgery used to treat joint problems.
Ruth H. Taylor, CEO of Operations Abroad Worldwide, speaking at the embassy alongside Dr Kellnerová said: “SurGal is the only hospital we found where the quality of the service is so high and yet the prices so competitive and low. All medical care at SurGal is provided by leading and highly respected medical experts with many years of experience in their respective fields. Additionally the hospital is ISO 9001 accredited and OHSAS18001 certified for piece of mind.” Indeed, on the hygiene front, MRSA testing is undertaken once a month at Brno’s University Hospital.
As regards specific costs for a hip replacement performed on the NHS the figure would be £5,943 (including 5 days in hospital) versus SurGal’s tariff of £3,790 (incorporating 14 days recuperation), Taylor revealed. After your operation there is always the possibility to visit seven UNESCO monuments located in and around Brno - including Villa Tugendhat designed by architect Mies van der Rohe - or take a trip to one of the many vineyards in Southern Moravia, a region that produces around 95% of the country’s wine.
by Roger Aitken
Note:
For more information on SurGal Clinic s.r.o. in Brno see www.surgalclinic.cz and
for Operations Abroad Worldwide see www.operationsabroadworldwide.co.uk