The Hindu Business Line : Talks under way to establish Indo-UAE healthcare ties

MOVES are under way to establish long-term mutual co-operation between leading Indian healthcare institutions and UAE medical institutions in the public and the private sectors.

Import of Indian drugs, joint ventures and training programmes were among the issues being discussed with the UAE health authorities by a 21-member Indian delegation under the patronage of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The team comprising CEOs of leading medical speciality centres and hospitals in India are presently on a fact-finding mission to the UAE.

The Escorts Heart Institute is also likely to be involved in developing a full-fledged speciality heart institute through a tie-up with the UAE-based NMC Group.

Dr Naresh K. Trehan, Chairman, CII National Committee on Health and Executive Director, Escorts Heart Institute and head of the delegation, told Business Line that the team has held fruitful discussions with the UAE Health Ministry officials and local health organisations to have mutually beneficial co-operation in a host of areas.

"The delegation is presenting the strengths of India in the field of healthcare and will also try to understand the healthcare systems prevalent in the UAE. Our main purpose is to project India's highly trained manpower in the medical field, our good education and training programmes and paramedical services. We also have leading speciality centres for the treatment of cardiac problems, joint replacement and a host of other complicated surgeries at one-tenth the cost of similar procedures in the West. We would like to see how these facts fit in with the systems in Abu Dhabi and other cities in the UAE," he said.

India was also looking at overseas investors in the healthcare sector as a projected $25 billion is likely to be invested in the field over the next 10 years.

The team held talks with senior Health Ministry and General Authority for Health officials here. They will also meet officials of the newly set up Dubai Health Care City. Apart from Escorts, the Apollo Hospitals Group, Hinduja Hospital, Wockhardt, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Centre and Medicom Solutions Pvt Ltd are among the other leading medical centres whose senior representatives are part of the delegation.

Dr Trehan said that the delegation offered training programmes for UAE medical and paramedical personnel, mooted joint research programmes, and studies for development of drugs as well as building of joint venture medical facilities. "We have sensitised them on our capabilities and we have received a very positive response," he said.

The team also stressed the high quality of Indian pharmaceuticals and pressed home the fact that UAE authorities would benefit from a sizeable reduction in expenses if they imported Indian drugs. The Escorts Heart Institute was also seriously exploring the possibility of developing a full-fledged heart institute in collaboration with the NMC Group, he said. "I do not believe that just having specialists travel to conduct surgeries is the answer and in many cases such measures have failed. There has to be a full fledged centre where patients can be accorded the proper aftercare treatment which is vital for good recovery." he said.

Mr Shetty, Vice-Chairman of NMC Group, said the heart institute was being planned at NMC's new multi-speciality centres coming up in Dubai this year and Abu Dhabi at a later date. Both invasive and non-invasive advanced procedures will be conducted at the centres, he added.

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