The term ‘medical Tourism’ also known as health or medical travel refers to travelers who have chosen to have medical treatment in a country other than their own, while at the same time receiving equal to or greater than they would have in their own country, and are travelling for medical care because of affordability, as well as better access to care The standard of medical facilities and available treatments vary widely around the world.
Home to London, a globally influential centre of finance and culture, the United Kingdom is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and has a population of more than 64 million. As a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary governance system, the UK is also known as a cultural superpower, thanks to its rich and prosperous heritage. The destination welcomes more than 31 million tourists every year, usually arriving to one of the 5 airports that serve the city of London. Known as one of the more globalized economies, its service sector dominates the landscape, contributing around 78% of the nation’s GDP.
The United Kingdom’s healthcare system is the oldest and largest single-payer healthcare system in the world, with each of the four destinations having its own system funded through general taxation. The government provides all British citizens free or low cost care under theNHS, also known as the National Health System, leaving a small private sector for routine operations, which caters to people that do not want to wait in line for elective procedures, or are not citizens or residents of the Islands. Being a developed nation, the UK’s quality and accreditation towards its healthcare centres is something to be expected by the patients, for both the public and the private sectors.
On one hand, medical tourism is lower than that of UK residents travelling abroad. Patients from the United Kingdom seek medical care abroad for three primary reasons: Waiting times, Cost, and access to specialist care. A growing number of UK residents travel abroad to access treatment. While there is a long and continuing history of patients from abroad travelling to thje UK to seek medical treatment, including in the private sector and privately from the NHS.
Patients who travel into the UK for private treatment in the NHS are likely to be more lucrative than private patients’ residents in the UK. Records have it that private patient income resulted from non-residents patients, even though these only accounted for seven percent of patients.