Sri Lanka Medical Tourism – Ranfer Healthcare
Sri Lanka: The Complete Healthcare Destination
“Today, more and more foreigners are taking advantage of Sri Lanka’s high quality affordable, private healthcare services, and combining it with that once-in-a-lifetime vacation in this diverse tropical paradise. What better way to recover for a medical operation than to relaxing for a few days on a palm-fringed golden beach or waking to the pleasant aroma of fermenting tea leaves wafting through your hill country bungalow?”
Ranfer Travels Sri Lanka launched its newest service offering with Ranfer Health Service to cater to this very need. We specialize in organizing cosmetic and surgical holidays to a choice of the hospital that is best suited for each client. However, it also arranges a range of packages including nonsurgical treatments such as dental treatments and spa massages. By our extensive market research prior to the launching of this new division we found that on average, the costs of a total package to Sri Lanka including airfares, transfers, pre- or post-procedure holiday at a luxury resort, food, hospital stay, and all treatment costs, are in the order of 50% of the costs of the surgical procedure alone in the West.
Sri Lanka’s appeal as a tourist destination is partly a reflection of its remarkable variety of attractions. Beach holidays, cultural packages and eco-tourism are all on offer to the discerning traveler. In recent years, Sri Lanka has also come to stake its claim as a global health destination. While the rise of Ayurvedic health spas across the country is a great example to the restorative benefits of this ancient holistic system of medicine, Colombo also now boasts a selection of modern, well equipped private hospitals offering the latest in conventional medical and surgical therapies.
Hence, Sri Lanka positioning itself as a global health destination is hardly surprising. The island has long been a centre of physical and spiritual healing. Travel to the Cultural Triangle (ie: Kandy, Anuradhapura & Pollonnaruwa) and you will see the ruins of ancient hospitals over 1,000-years-old, along with excavated surgical instruments that look remarkably similar to modern-day surgical forceps. Since the 1970s, Sri Lankan doctors have come to be among the country’s best-known exports to the West and virtually all the specialists in Sri Lanka have had at least part of their postgraduate training abroad, commonly in the United Kingdom or the United States.
A growing number of foreigners are taking advantage of Sri Lanka’s affordable, high-quality private healthcare services, and combining it with the chance to take a holiday. What better way to prepare for an operation than relaxing for a few days on a palm-fringed golden beach or waking to the pleasant aroma of fermenting tea leaves wafting through your hill country bungalow? Though the medical tourism industry in Sri Lanka is still at its infancy, a number of private hospitals in Colombo are well geared to provide services to international clients.
All Ranfer Healthcare’s contracted private hospitals are equipped with state-of-the-art technology and equipment and offer the latest in diagnostics, medical and surgical services. While it is possible to establish direct contact with the hospital of your choice, it is usually preferable to obtain a direct referral from your own doctor or to engage the services of a third-party agent, at least when thinking about elective surgery.
Medical tourism is not without its critics, like many professional organizations in the West, Europe and in other parts of the world advise against the idea of traveling abroad for surgery. While concerns about long-term follow-up and the development of possible complications during travel home are legitimate, do not be deterred by any perceived shortcomings of the healthcare on offer in Sri Lanka. The private hospitals in Colombo that cater to the private sector clients are modern, well equipped and offer a standard of care at least comparable to what you will enjoy in the West. The specialists they employ are highly skilled and invariably have had their postgraduate training abroad. Nursing staff are also highly trained and will ensure you receive the optimum personalize care.
However, if you are thinking about coming to Sri Lanka for that knee replacement or getting that tummy tuck or for a simple dental procedure, it is worth doing some thorough research beforehand. Find out as much about the actual procedure as possible, the qualifications and accreditations of the doctors and the hospital itself. Make sure you address all of your questions and concerns beforehand and get a general estimate of costs and scheduling. Of particular importance is the length of stay. Ideally, this should be long enough to ensure that there are no complications and that air travel back home is safe.
While for the moment Colombo remains the hub of Sri Lanka’s medical tourism potential, a number of impressive health facilities have opened in the other major urban centers. The beginning of medical tourism in Sri Lanka is an exciting development and one that holds incredible promise for growth in the future.