An internationally renowned heart surgeon, Dr Devi Shetty has purchased 200 acres in the Cayman Islands and plans to build a new hospital. Survey work is already beginning, and there are plans to include energy efficient technology throughout the building.
The land at High Rock was initially intended to become a commercial seaport, but this plan failed when it proved to be unpopular with locals. It's one of the highest elevated points on Grand Cayman and has natural protection against storm surges and flooding. As well as the hospital there will also be a number of support facilities including residential accommodation and hotels.
These plans have been in the pipeline for more than two years, and recent legislation passed by the government will enable practitioners to limit damages, keeping insurance costs and internal health care costs down.
The initial phase is expected to be quite a small hospital of just 140 beds, but during the next 10 to 15 years Shetty has additional plans to include an educational facility, assisted care community, a tertiary care hospital and a biotech research centre.
A development of this size will require significant improvements to infrastructure, including transportation and public services. Patients would stay on the island an average of nine and a half days and when the hospital becomes a fully operational it could be catering for 1,400 patients a day.
Whenever medical tourism is mentioned, it's easy to think it's only available in countries such as India or Thailand, but the fact it is expanding its reach to other countries can only be good news. The international medical tourism market is a sector which is increasing rapidly with many patients unable to afford or obtain decent medical care in their own countries.
