Effective and affordable

German healthcare offers the best treatment and care for the whole family, with a full range of services

Germany has long been a healthcare tourism destination for people from the Middle East. The country has an enviable health care system, with excellent patient care and affordable prices combining to make it an attractive destination.

According to figures available at the German Consulate in Dubai, out of the 500,000 visitors from the GCC who travelled to Germany in 2007, a large number used medical facilities during their time there.

Hospitals and health centres have been developed throughout Germany and many treat patients from around the globe.

Many German health practitioners depend on the combined treatment of spa therapy and specialised medical therapy to heal many conditions, including muscular-skeletal illnesses, respiratory tract diseases, cardiovascular disease, skin diseases and digestive disorders.

Hamburg and Munich are the favoured destinations of visitors from the GCC and they received 40,000 to 50,000 and 253,000 respectively in 2007.

"These two cities have very good infrastructure, especially for Arabs, due to the availability of facilities such as halal food and Arabic speaking personnel," says Martin Tscherner, Vice Consul at the Consulate in Dubai.

"With Emirates flying directly, the number of Emiratis travelling to these two cities has increased tremendously."

The significance of the German healthcare services and products to the GCC is demonstrated by the country's participation in exhibitions such as Arab Health, which is conducted annually in Dubai.

One of the organisations that regularly takes part in Arab health is German and Arabian Health Services (GAHS), which in addition to medical products, offers professional medical services with the latest treatment and rehabilitation facilities in Germany, including flights, transportation, interpreter and follow-up at home.

GAHS also takes care of the family of the patient in terms of visa, transportation, accommodation, sight seeing and translation during their stay in Germany.

The company specialises in providing help to patients in the fields of surgery, internal medicine, cancer treatment, complementary medicine and rehabilitation.

Norbert Seis, Group Executive Director of GAHS, German Medical Centre in Dubai and Pro Med Klinics in Germany, says, "We facilitate the treatment of several patients from the UAE in Germany mainly in Munich and in Bavaria. After the main treatment they come back and have follow-up treatment in Dubai at the German Medical Centre.

"Many of our patients have given us positive feedback about the treatment and facilities in Germany and the follow-up here," adds Seis.

One patient, a young girl who does not want to be named, was treated for the blood disorder thalassaemia a few years ago in Hamburg.

Her entire family lived with her in the city for two years, the duration of her treatment. Her father says they had good experiences in Hamburg regarding medical facilities as well as their stay.

German healthcare in Dubai

The German Center for Neurology and Psychiatry, basedin Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC), opened last May. It has been practising in Germany since 1981, and has now brought its expertise to the UAE.

It has close ties to neurological, neurosurgical and psychiatric clinics at the universities of Duesseldorf, Aachen and Krefeld, Germany, and can arrange for admission as inpatients in Germany, for example with the case of a stroke or slipped disk. Second opinions are also available in Germany.

Also based at DHCC is German Limbtech, which offers a comprehensive range of orthopaedic technology services for adults and children.

It has technical and training support services from its parent companies based in Germany - Sanitätshaus Gebauer GmbH and Sanitätshaus Müllenheim GmbH.

Patients are assured that all materials are medically tested in accordance with German standards. People who have experienced German healthcare and professionals in the industry feel Germany willcontinue to be an attractive healthcare tourism destination in the future.