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Middle East conflict: Pune hospitals see drop in overseas patients
Middle East conflict has caused a sharp decline in overseas patient arrivals at leading hospitals in Pune over the past two weeks
PUNE: The ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran has disrupted international travel as well as medical tourism, causing a sharp decline in overseas patient arrivals at leading hospitals in Pune over the past two weeks, not to mention a near halt in fresh inquiries from foreign patients along with a noticeable rise in cancellations, particularly for elective procedures; officials said.
According to hospital officials, the current geopolitical situation and the resultant airspace closures, flight suspensions and rising airfares have created major hurdles for patients planning to travel to India for treatment.
According to hospital administrators, African countries such as Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Liberia and Mozambique as well as Middle Eastern nations including Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Iraq account for a lion’s share of international patients travelling to Pune. The Middle East accounts for nearly 65% to 70% of the medical tourists in Pune city.
Furthermore, the impact of the current situation varies by country. Flights from Muscat (Oman) to Mumbai continue to operate, allowing some patients to travel. Whereas services from Iraq — including Baghdad, Basra and Kurdistan — to Mumbai and Delhi remain suspended, severely affecting patient movement. Flights from Aden and Yemen are still operational but with reduced frequency, now operating only once every two to three weeks instead of weekly flights, officials said.
At Ruby Hall Clinic (RHC), international patient inflow has dropped by 20 to 30% in the past two weeks. “There has been a noticeable rise in cancellations, especially for elective procedures. Emergency and critical care cases continue with minimal disruption,” said Urvaksh Bhote, chief operative officer (COO) of the hospital. Bhote said that the sharpest decline has been seen from conflict-affected regions such as Iraq and Yemen. “We are also seeing a slowdown in new inquiries, hesitation in confirming travel, and greater reliance on teleconsultations before patients decide on treatment,” he said.
At Jehangir Hospital, international patient arrivals have dropped by nearly 30% over the past two weeks, with cancellations reported at similar levels. Dr Vinod Sawantwadkar, chief executive officer (CEO) of the hospital, said that patients from Yemen, Iran, the UAE and Iraq are the worst affected due to travel disruptions. “Patients from Yemen alone account for nearly 70% of our international patient base. However, due to the geopolitical situation, flight suspensions and airspace restrictions, there has been a significant drop in patient visits,” he said, adding that the disruption is likely to continue for the next few months.
At Noble Hospital, officials said that the impact has been even more severe, with almost no fresh inquiries from Middle Eastern countries. “We have not received a single inquiry from patients from these regions in the past few weeks. On an average, we see 15 to 20 international patients every month but there have been almost none recently,” said Dr H K Sale, executive director of the hospital. He added that only one international patient was admitted and treated for cancer last week, highlighting the sharp decline in the inflow of medical tourists.
Hospital authorities said that while the ongoing disruption has already begun affecting scheduled treatments and consultations, prolonged instability in the region could further dent medical tourism in Pune and other Indian cities.
