Turkey’s world-class health care service, offering cutting-edge treatment at an affordable price, has convinced more and more foreign patients to pick the country for medical treatments.
Hussein Nur Isse, a 58-year-old Somali national, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that he suffered from a herniated disc for five years. After a long search about the surgery online he decided to come to Turkey.
"I chose Turkey because they have good doctors with reasonable prices," Isse said, adding that he knows many people who received successful treatment in Turkey.
"I loved Turkey's health care system. I am very pleased with the staff too. They were respectful and very kind," he said, adding that he would recommend Turkey to anyone thinking about surgery.
He said Turkey has a health care system with diversified capabilities and resources. He underwent the surgery at the Keçiören Education and Research Hospital in the capital Ankara.
"After visiting Turkey many times, either for checkups or vacations, he finally bought an apartment in Ankara," Isse said.
Safe during pandemic
British citizen Abdishakuur Mohamed Osman came to Turkey with his mother for dental treatment.
"Several friends of mine from Europe and the U.S. visited Turkey for hair cosmetics, dental and general medicine. Their positive feedback helped me chose Turkey," he said.
"You can receive good treatment at affordable prices," he said, adding that he was satisfied with the service, speed, high-tech devices, efficiency and professionalism shown by the health care staff.
Having visited Turkey during the coronavirus pandemic, he said they feel safe and secure in Turkey.
"The good thing about Turkey is everyone is mandated to wear face masks even on the road," he said, adding that Turkey was the new health tourism "hot spot."
IVF treatment
A Canadian couple, who wanted to remain anonymous, said they received in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, more commonly known as a test-tube baby, at a private hospital in Istanbul last July.
"Turkey has world-renowned doctors in the field," they said, talking about their treatment process during the pandemic.
They said the pandemic "had a minimal impact" on their experience and had COVID-19 tests before beginning the procedure.
"In Canada, our lives have drastically changed as a result of lockdowns. In Turkey, we actually felt like life was "back to normal," but with masks and social distancing. Personally, we preferred this approach," they added.
Underlining that they have also advised two friends to seek medical treatment in Turkey, the couple said did so due to the up-to-date facilities, medical experts and much lower cost.
"We also mentioned the fact that Turkey is great for tourism, and they can undergo the procedure while enjoying Turkey as a vacation spot," they said.
Global hub
Zeki Noyan, who works for the Medinah Care health tourism agency in Ankara, said the number of patients decreased last year due to the pandemic.
However, he said he was really hopeful for 2021 in terms of health tourism and added that they received patients from all over the world, including the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands and Norway.
"Turkey has become a global hub for health care tourism, offering world-class services with experienced experts and high-tech devices at affordable prices," he added.
He said the most popular treatments in Turkey include dental treatments, hair transplantation, cosmetic surgery and IVF treatment.
"We inform all our patients about the process before arrival, including which doctor to visit, what kind of procedure will be carried out. We also offer choices between three to four hospitals at different price points. The patients then pick whichever hospital or doctor better suits their needs," said Noyan.
He added that some patients prefer Turkey's Mediterranean resort city of Antalya to combine health services and a summer vacation at the same time.