Long Patient Waiting Times Force NHS Patients To Seek Treatment Abroad

Such legal decisions should be made on the basis of the merits of the treatment and the condition of the patient. Owing to such case that have caught public attention, the waiting times of patients registered with the NHS are coming down.

If only the Government reaches its target of 18 weeks (from the time of referral to provision of treatment) by the end of 2008, then perhaps the need for NHS patients to travel abroad for medical treatment would be drastically reduced.

One reason behind the increasing inclination to medical tourism is also the reduced cost associated with cosmetic surgery, infertility treatment (more specifically, IVF), orthopedic surgeries such as knee and hip replacement surgeries in other countries compared to NHS costs. Countries such as India, South Africa, Malaysia, Eastern Europe and Thailand are particularly enjoying the growth of the medical tourism industry.