Health tourism in Malta is in for a good start as £20 million, and a possible additional £20 million, is expected to be made available to encourage tourists, mostly from the UK, to obtain loans to be able to receive surgery and treatment in Malta “at a fraction of the price” they would expect to pay in the UK.

According to Gary Miller from Sahara Medical Tourism – which, together with the Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), St James Hospital and Hotel Fortina Spa Resort, will be kick-starting a campaign to promote health tourism in Malta – the idea is to put Malta “right at the top of international health tourism destinations, since the local health facilities are wonderful”.

What’s more, said Mr Miller, the national airline provides a very good service and the rehabilitation facilities and hotels also provide excellent services.

Sahara Medical Tourism has shot a 30-second commercial to launch the

campaign, which will be broadcast for the first time on Living TV and Living Plus on 1 August.

This first commercial promotes cosmetic surgery services at a fraction of the price that would be paid in the UK, but the plan is to eventually also promote dental, orthopaedic and cardiac surgery and treatment.

The commercial will be broadcast four times in two hours during Extreme Makeover and its repetition on Living Plus an hour later. The show is aired between 9 and 10pm, every day between Monday and Friday.

One minor hitch is that Sahara Medical Tourism expects local surgeons should be registered with the British General Medical Council (GMC), which keeps up-to-date registers of qualified doctors, with the aim of ensuring that all registered doctors maintain standards.

Mr Miller said the plan was to collaborate with the Maltese government and the Medical Association of Malta to get Maltese surgeons GMC-accredited. This would ensure that British people considering coming to Malta for surgery would have their minds put at rest regarding their safety.

Mr Miller made it clear that Sahara Medical Tourism does not advocate a holiday after surgery as this would be dangerous. Sahara Medical encourages people to receive surgery and treatment in the best rehabilitation facilities in the world, he said.

He explained that the idea was to have Malta as an ally, not a competitor of the British National Health Service.

“We will eventually promote other types of surgery and treatment, not simply cosmetic surgery. If a British national needs a hip replacement, and this can only be offered after nine months or so in the UK, we will offer the possibility of the operation being carried out in Malta after just two to three weeks,” said Mr Miller.

However, he warned, prices for services must be kept as competitive as possible. The Cypriot government, for example, was investing a considerable amount of money in the health tourism sector.

He said it was not just about surgery, but also about the way people are looked after – it is about the whole package offered.

“We need to start raising awareness of what Malta can offer. This country should be offered as a choice and starting off with cosmetic surgery is a good idea to begin competing on a level that most of Europe is pushing.”

As Sahara Medical Tourism plan to create a one-hour documentary with full details of the package that Malta can offer regarding surgery and treatment, the MTA will

be spending Lm300,000 (EUR698,812) to launch an integrated advertising campaign to further promote Malta’s health tourism sector in the near future.

Michael Zammit Tabona from Hotel Fortina Spa Resort said the £40 million deal that will be made available in loans to tourists visiting Malta for surgery or treatment purposes will be extended further, once the fund has dried up.

The Fortina has also set special rates for health patients and is fully equipped with a rehabilitation centre. Mr Zammit Tabona explained that they also planned to buy a machine that was specifically intended for patients recuperating from surgery.