You can now go abroad for medical treatment and simultaneously enjoy yourself, shop or just go sightseeing. Many hospitals in neighboring countries offer this type of package. Singapore, which offers excellent health services with world-class health facilities and medical specialists, is an interesting destination for a medical tour.
Many Indonesian celebrities go to Singapore for medical treatment. Jakarta socialites have checkups in Singapore. Even defendants in court cases have been known to fly to Singapore for the same reason. Indeed, Singapore, an island-state, is a promising place for those in need of medical treatment.
Doctors in Singapore are generally highly skilled and experienced. The medical equipment is state-of-the-art and the medical services first-class. That’s why many people from other parts of Asia and even from other parts of the world pin their hopes for a cure on Singapore. Every year, according to a Singapore medical website, over 150,00 international patients go to Singapore for various kinds of medical treatment, ranging from general checkups to major surgery such as heart surgery.
There are many hospitals in Singapore to choose from, such as the Thomson Medical Center, Raffles Hospital, Singapore General Hospital and the National University Hospital to name but a few. Besides being easily accessible, these hospitals also offer luxury because they are designed like star-rated hotels and do not in the least look like a regular hospital.
The services they offer also resemble those given by first-class hotels. That’s why international patients may enjoy nonmedical services. They, for example, may ask to be met at the airport or ask the hospital to find them a place to stay while they are in Singapore.
Indeed, Singapore has become savvy in selling medical services. Indonesia is reportedly the main target market for Singapore’s hospitals. About 40 percent of the 200,000 patients who go to Singapore for medical treatment are from Indonesia.
Singapore is indeed a better choice if faced with the choice of getting medical treatment in Singapore, Europe or the U.S. Sonia Wibisono, an physician-artist, agrees with this opinion, adding that not only are hospitals in Singapore very modern but the doctors are also experienced and highly skilled.
“If a patient goes to Singapore, he not only gets medical service but also gets to enjoy the atmosphere of cosmopolitan, world-class urban facilities and various attractive forms of entertainment,” she said.
Besides Singapore, Malaysia is also luring Indonesians with medical tourism packages. Although not quite as popular as Singapore, Penang is gaining ground with Indonesian patients and tourists.
Penang, known as the Pearl of the Orient, is a coastal city. Measuring some 285 square kilometers with a population of 1.2 million people, Penang used to be noted for its spices and palms. Foreigners have come to Penang’s shores since the days of yore. In 1786, the sultan of Kedah handed over the protection of Penang to Capt. Francis Light of Britain.
Today Penang is a combination of old, as evident in its British colonial buildings, and modernity, as manifested in the great number of high-rises, such as star-rated hotels like the Shangri-La, Copthorne Orchid Hotel, Berjaya George Town Hotel and Paradise Sandy Beach Resort.
