Indaba 2007 – Medical & Health Tourism

Think of the words ‘Health Tourism’ and images can easily spring to mind of people travelling to Asia and other places for cheap cosmetic surgery and then taking in a few sights before returning home.

Serokolo Medical and Health Tourism Services offer a much more pleasant personalised alternative!  Serokolo is a health and medical tourism company based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Pictured right are Boni Mtniyane (Marketing), Dr Teboho Matube (Medical Director), Pinbie Mncube (Nurse) and Victor Viljoen (Massage Therapist).

The company’s mission is to provide holistic, comprehensive and quality health services to the international community.  Serokolo ensures that the kid gloves surround you as soon as you arrive in South Africa, and has partnered with some of the most renowned hotels and resorts and game reserves to offer you the ultimate peace of mind.

The fundamental difference taken by Serokolo is their understanding that clients are individuals, not just patients or medical cases.  Their approach is focused primarily on addressing people’s needs (ie a potential life-threatening condition) where the facilities or waiting lists place a person at risk.

Dr Teboho Matube, Seokolo’s Medical Director explained:

Primarily, patients come from Nigeria, where Serokolo has an office that connects directly with local doctors.  The government pays the actual medical expenses, including the travel component.  The patient is taken care of personally from the moment they arrive to the moment they leave.

An individual plan is developed to treat the patient, involving whatever specialists are required along the way. Medication is included, and recovery takes place in guest houses due to the more personal nature of the care, with nurses visiting regularly, as part of a restoration and recovery package.  This includes massages and ‘feel-good’ therapies.

Why this is so good is that people who are in and just above the poverty line have access to the infrastructure, technology and specialists in South Africa via their local doctor.

Though the medical fees and transfers are paid for them, for people in less favourable circumstances, Serokolo will find a way to provide the best holistic restoration possible.  For many, this means their experience moves from an impersonal activity to a memorable personalised experience.

An increasing number of people from Europe are enjoying the Serokolo experience, with restoration and recovery packages at Serokolo partner hotels and resorts.

The good news does not stop there – For international visitors, in addition to the medical side of operations, Serokolo offers a preventative health tourism package.

Day one you are given a thorough going over, sorry & yes, blood samples & needles are involved! After a thorough health screening which even includes food allergy tests and abdominal scans, a full report is compiled for you and you are given an ongoing health plan, which you can follow up afterwards.  This can be done at the resort you are staying.

Day two is a restoration day, we are talking serious massage, relaxation and revitalization!  At this point, various tourism options are available – a lot of the time this involves shopping expeditions, but the whole range of African attractions are available.

This means that you can turn a bland waiting list for a medical procedure, into a cocooned health experience that incorporates the, er… ‘fix’ that you need and then make that visit to Table Mountain that you have always wanted to do….

This is great news for people trying to get a friend or rel into hospital for an operation, you can tempt them with a holiday in a game reserve as part of the deal!

For further information, contact Dr Matube direct on [email protected]

Report by The Mole