A small group of doctors from Kerala travel regularly to the Maldive Islands to provide treatment
Photos: Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. Photo by Manu R Mavelil; Dr. N Prathap Kumar
By
Shevlin Sebastian
At
Malé airport, on the Maldive Islands, recently, a 75-year-old woman
hailed the Thiruvananthapuram-based dermatologist Dr S Radhakrishnan
Nair.
Radhakrishnan
was puzzled. He could not recognise the woman. Then she told the
doctor that he had treated her a year ago, at a medical camp, on one
of the islands. “She had been suffering from chronic dermatitis,”
says Radhakrishan, “But when I saw her again, she had been relieved
of her symptoms. So, she was very happy to meet me.”
Radhakrishnan
has been going to the Maldives for the past two years. He is
associated with a private hospital called Maldicare. “I go once a
month, or, sometimes, once in two months,” he says. “There are a
lack of doctors there.”
Some
of the common skin diseases the people suffer from, are fungal
infections and psoriasis. “Since they are always in water, because
of their work as fishermen, they have fungal infections,” he says.
“As for the prevalence of psoriasis it is a genetic condition.”
Malayali
doctors, belonging to different categories, like dentists,
physicians, cardiologists, neurologists, and surgeons, go to the
Maldives. But the numbers are low. So the Maldivian government
provides full health insurance, apart from flight tickets, to enable
its citizens to get treatment abroad.
Hence,
patients travel to Thiruvanathapuram and Bengaluru, Colombo,
Singapore, Bangkok and Jakarta, to get treatment. Amazingly, one
rufiyaa (Maldivian currency) fetches 4.2 Indian rupees. “That makes
it easier for them to come to Kerala,” says Radhakrishnan.
Meanwhile,
last month, cardiologist Dr. N Prathap Kumar, the managing director
of the Meditrina Hospital at Thiruvananthapuram set up The National
Cardiac Centre (NCC) at the government-run Indira Gandhi memorial
hospital at Malé. “This is the first unit in the country,” says
Prathap.
And
the cardiologist had specific reasons to set it up. “The country
saves a lot of money,” he says. “Even if I charge 30 per cent
more, it is much less than what they are paying when they go abroad.
Secondly, cardiac treatment is always needed as an emergency. The
people can get treatment in their homeland, in the presence of their
near and loved ones.”
Agrees
Maldivian cardiologist, Dr. Ali Shafeeq, “Though medical care
abroad is free, people face many difficulties when they travel
abroad. So, they are happy to get treatment at home.”
The
NCC unit has three cardiologists, as well as nursing staff. And they
are paid well. While a cardiologist gets Rs 6 lakh a month, nurses
earn anywhere between Rs 50,000 to 90,000, depending on overtime. And
it has been a hectic time so far.
"We
have done 110 procedures in the first month,” says Prathap. “I do
all the complex cases. Most people suffer from heart attacks, valve
diseases and blocks. The problem is that about 90 per cent of the
population, including the women, are smokers. That is not healthy.”
Prathap
goes to the Maldives twice a week. Recently, he reached Maldives at
11.30 p.m., and started the operations next day at 4.45 a.m. “I
managed to do 22 procedures, but, by 3 p.m. I was at the airport, to
go back,” he says.
However,
Prathap says that not everybody is happy with his initiative. “They
are missing the chance to go abroad,” he says. “Some hospitals in
Thiruvananthapuram have lost customers. Travel agents have lost
business all because of me. But I still believe that when an
emergency happens, the only way to save lives is to have a cardiac
unit at Malé.”
Ali
says, “Yes, indeed. We have been able to save many lives and
improve the quality of life of many patients by timely interventions.
So, having a cardiac unit in Malé is a true blessing.”
(The
New Indian Express, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram)
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