Medical Tourism
Over recent years what is referred to as ‘medical tourism’ has gained popularity with those looking for affordable treatments to preserve or enhance their looks, get themselves checked over thoroughly, or deal with a certain aspect of their body that is causing them a lack in confidence. As North Cyprus is also short journey away from most of Europe, it is becoming a popular option for many.
‘Medical tourists’ are not your average vacationers either, not opting for medical or cosmetic treatment just because it is available, but they are patients with significant health concerns for whom the cost of their healthcare is a top priority. The vacation aspect is normally a secondary one as it could be that affordability and quality of healthcare and cost savings make it more sensible to travel abroad.
In North Cyprus there are several private hospitals that have cosmetic surgeons, and they will have trained and qualified in Turkey or another country that has top institutions, universities and medical facilities such as Germany or America. They also have to be registered and endorsed by the Ministry of Health Department in North Cyprus to be able to work and operate here.
A wide range of procedures are catered for, and each is carefully detailed with what the results will and will not do for a client, avoiding any confusion and making the decision process a little easier. All clients are given an individual service, price quotations are provided after a detailed discussion and analysis of the issue they would like to deal with.
Private hospitals have a good reputation in North Cyprus for professionalism and excellent hygiene standards, something that is becoming more of an issue in other parts of Europe these days. There are also a range of options, surgeries and facilities available also.
There also many private clinics, private hospitals and even clinical departments of the larger Universities in Kyrenia, Lefkosa and Famagusta, which offer a complete check-up and MOT, and some of us at Freedom have spent several hours being pampered whilst being tested and given a good going over! It is extremely cheap in comparison to our homes countries and we chose a full on package with so many treatments, examinations and tests we don’t have the time to list them all here! However, some of the more common ones were blood analysis, xray’s, general examination and gynachological examination (for women obviously!), bone density tests and cholesterol to things like weight planning and dietary issues.
Costs vary, with different packages available from a Mini check-up, Standard option and packages for women and men under 40 and another for over 40. For the men the cost at the time for a full medical for an over 40 year old was 1,200TL (1,942NOK/£174/198 Euro) and 1,440TL (2,330NOK/£208/238 Euro) for women.
Some private institutions also have specialist units for more holistic based therapies such as acupuncture and ozone therapy to treat many ailments including arthritis, back issues, joint pain, respiratory and digestive issues. You may also find units for sports related injuries and IVF treatments.
Many ‘medical tourists’ are now taking advantage of such services and options, booking a holiday and taking time out to fine tune their health in relaxed, stress free environments where the level of care is perhaps even better than they are used to in their home countries.
If you would like to know more about these kinds of services and which hospitals, clinics and institutions offer these services, and even where we at Freedom have visited, please feel free to contact us via our contact form. We would be happy to hear from you!
