Bangladesh Patients: Bangladeshi Patients Cancelling Medical Trips to Kolkata | Kolkata News

KOLKATA: Bangladesh patients who had booked beds or outpatient consultation slots in private hospitals in Kolkata have started cancelling the appointments in the wake of the violence in the neighbouring nation.
Scores of Bangladesh patients who are now in Kolkata for treatment are stuck in the city even as flights and trains between Kolkata and Dhaka have been cancelled.Hospitals apprehend a sharp drop in patients from Bangladesh which contributes around 15% of footfalls in at least six to eight private hospitals here.
A college teacher from Mymensingh, who had a surgery at Ruby General Hospital last week, was booked on a flight to Dhaka on Thursday which got cancelled. He had to travel back by road which could take an entire day. “We are keeping in touch with him and the family for he has still not recovered fully. His visa was expiring so he had no option but travel back by road,” said Ruby general manager (operations) Subhashish Datta. Ruby had 15 Bangladeshi patients at its OPD on Thursday. “A drop in Bangladesh patients is inevitable due to travel restrictions,” added Datta.
Manipal Hospitals, which receives around 2,200 Bangladesh patients a day across its four units, is bracing for a drop. “Now, we have 1,500 patients. Many have left over the last two days while many more are now stuck. The pinch will be felt from Friday since borders are likely to be sealed from Thursday,” said a representative.
India witnessed a 48% rise in medical tourists from Bangladesh in 2023 compared to 2022, said Indian Chamber of Commerce national healthcare chairman Prashant Sharma. “But this nationwide shutdown in Bangladesh is unlikely to be withdrawn soon as the Bangladesh Supreme Court judgment is expected only on August 7. Patients may reschedule their treatment plans in India as 70% of them enter India by road,” said Sharma, also the MD of Charnock Hospital.
Peerless Hospital, which hasn’t yet seen a drop in Bangladeshi patients, is keeping fingers crossed. On Thursday, it had around 120 OPD patients from Bangladesh while 25-30 are admitted.
At RN International Institute of Cardiac Sciences (RTIICS), number of Bangladeshi patients in the OPD is now hovering around 8,000 per month. “It is much more than what we had in the last three months. Admissions have also improved over the last three months. Visa invitation letter requests have also not impacted as of now. However, we may experience an impact after a week as the current flow of patients have already travelled into India. If protests continue, then it may impact the footfalls by around 15%-20% over a short period of time,” said Narayana Hospitals COO R Venkatesh.
Sombrata Roy, unit head of CMRI Hospital, said: “We have seen a steady rise in number of Bangladeshi patients. But it could drop now due to the prevailing situation.”