UK media gives medical tourism a favourable press

The UK press continues to provide plenty of coverage for medical tourism, the vast majority of which is incredibly positive. Whereas the media are usually quick to find the "bad news" story, this has certainly not been the case with medical tourism. The recent exception was this story "How my smile was ruined by a dodgy dentist" in the Daily Mail.

However, the UK media is, in general, giving medical tourism a favourable press:

• Record numbers go abroad for health treatment with 70,000 escaping NHS - Daily Mail
• 70,000 Brits have ops overseas - The Sun
• Fears and frustrations driving patients abroad - Sunday Telegraph
• Long distance surgery is a snip - The Times

The recent increases in UK patients traveling abroad are becoming somewhat of an enbarrassment for a Labour government which has invested significantly in the NHS in recent years. The Tory party have seen the opportunity:

"Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said the figures were a "terrible indictment" of government policies that were undermining the efforts of NHS staff to provide quality services."

Waiting times for operations, lack of access to new treatments and fears of MRSA and hospital infections are significant problems in the UK NHS.

And they all factors which will encourage more people to travel abroad for treatment......

Resources
You can see a regularly updated list of medical tourism news stories on Treatment Abroad.