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November 21, 2009 17:26 PM
Health Tourism Expected To Boom In Johor
JOHOR BAHARU, Nov 21 (Bernama) -- Health tourism is expected to boom in Johor in the near future with the construction of a new government hospital and the proposed wellness centre in Nusajaya.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said the government hospital, which was still in the planning stages, would be built at the Medical City in Nusajaya to complement the existing medical services in the state.
Meanwhile, the proposed wellness centre, a collaboration between the Singapore and Malaysian governments, would only materialise after a meeting on the details and concepts of the centre between the two parties next year.
He expected the medical service sector to boom in the near future, he told reporters after opening the Regency Specialist Hospital in Seri Alam, Masai, on Saturday.
To date, there are 12 government and 15 private hospitals in Johor to meet the needs of local and foreign patients with about half located within the Iskandar Malaysia development region.
Prior to this, Abdul Ghani said, Johor had not ventured into health tourism as many of the hospitals were already operating at full capacity treating the local patients.
With their strategic locations and cheaper prices, private hospitals in the state were able to draw more foreign patients, especially those from Singapore and Indonesia, to seek medical treatment here.
The Regency Specialist Hospital, a 218-bed private tertiary care hospital which started operation last November, provides a wide range of healthcare services for residents in Johor and the region.
-- BERNAMA
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