Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , April 24

THE Kingdom of Bahrain would like to work jointly with Kerala in the fields of healthcare and information technology.

The visiting Deputy Health Minister from the kingdom, Dr Abdul Aziz Hamza, stated this here. He is here on an invitation from the Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), a major healthcare service provider based here.

Talking to newspersons, Dr Hamza said he had the highest regard for the standards that Kerala had achieved in the field of healthcare and information technology. He viewed the State as a destination with high potential for medical tourism.

The kingdom would explore with great interest the scope for a mutual exchange programme in which medical students and paramedics could be sent here for training.

According to Dr M.I. Sahadullah, Chairperson and Managing Director, KIMS, the hospital already had a centre in Bahrain, which could be used as a conduit for sending in those who needed to undergo advanced training. On the other hand, healthcare teams from various specialities the hospital could visit Bahrain and conduct medical camps there.

Dr Hamza also visited the Electronics Technology Park (Technopark) here and also met with the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy. He said that Kerala had a special place in his mind as migrants from the State accounted for nearly 70 per cent of the expatriate population in the kingdom.

Bahrain has good medical infrastructure, but it can do with better medical skills and expertise. Kerala could help achieve this, especially in fields such as plastic surgery, paediatric cardiac surgery, cochlear implants and joint replacement surgery. Hospital information systems is another area with scope for cooperation. He held discussions with Hindustan Latex on the possibility of outsourcing blood bags, surgical gloves and disposables.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu Business Line