India may be touted as one of the most-preferred medical tourism destinations in the world but a report highlighting its poor surgical facilities may take some of the shine off. A recent study shows that the surgical facilities in India and Pakistan are very poor, as two countries have just 1.3 OTs per 100,000 people.

There is an acute absence of basic surgical equipments in the operation theatre in Indian hospitals, says the study. The study was conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and appeared in the medical journal Lancet. Absent oxygen monitors speak volumes of the bad infrastructure in the surgical theatres.

On the global map, the study finds that more than two billion people worldwide do not have adequate access to surgical treatment.

“The results showed that all high-income regions had at least 14 operating theatres per 100,000 people. In contrast, those in low-income regions had less than 2 operating theatres per 100,000 despite having a higher burden of surgical disease,” the report concludes.

The results for the study were obtained by studying conditions of 769 hospitals in 92 countries. According to the study ‘The researchers used pulse oximetry, a monitor that measures the amount of oxygen in patients’ blood during surgery and an essential component of safe anesthesia and surgery, as an indicator of operating theatre resources.

Read the press release of Harvard School of Public Health.

The story that appeared in the Lancet.