If you ever feel that the Czech healthcare system is collapsing, just look at the UK to get a different perspective. The bad reputation of the National Health Service (NHS) has UK citizens look for other ways to solve their health problems, often abroad. The Czech Republic is a common destination for reproductive medicine or plastic surgery, and eye surgery has recently come to the fore as well. "In the UK, the waiting time for a cataract surgery, for example, is up to two years. Here we can do it in six weeks’ time. On top, UK residents are not allowed to pay extra for a better implant within the NHS. As a result, they have to turn to private providers, which is often expensive," says Adam Janek, director of Eye Centre Prague (OCP), which has served foreign clients for five years.
"It was the best decision I’ve ever made," says Karen Scholes, from the UK, after the procedure at the Prague Eye Center. "I’ve struggled with my sight for about 9 years. It was a very hard decision for me choosing to go to Prague for lens replacement as I’m very sceptical about going somewhere I don’t know. I had originally decided to go with Optical Express, where it cost £6,200, but having messed me about booking and cancelling appointments I decided to take a risk and go to Beauty in Prague. The risk paid off and I am so so happy with the results. The same evening after the lens replacement I could text and use my phone without glasses. Absolutely unbelievable. I never imagined it would be that easy. I’m now home 5 days later and my vision is spot on. Everything around me is much brighter and crystal clear as well as the reading. I can’t recommend this clinic enough. The cost for my lens replacement was less than half price of the UK. Plus you get to see this beautiful city and explore it. Definitely a win-win."
When it comes to healthcare, the Czech Republic has a good reputation across Europe. On top, eye surgeries in Czechia are less expensive than in other countries, and the quality of care is often even higher. "Most foreigners we receive for eye surgery come from the UK, Ireland and Germany, and the demand is also increasing in the Nordics. Foreigners make up about fifteen percent of OCP clients today. The most common operations include refractive lens exchange and cataract surgery with the implantation of a trifocal lens. Foreign clients typically opt for such implants which make them glasses-free even at a higher age and at the same time eliminate refractive errors such as short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism," Adam Janek explains.
UK and Irish clients have high expectations on expertise, reliability, speed and continuous care.
In the British NHS – but this also applies to public healthcare systems in other Western European countries – the surgery is first performed on one eye, and then typically only a few weeks later, on the other eye. This means a lot of stress for the client and a long period of neuroadaptation to the new vision. "At OCP, we provide all care in the so-called surgery week, that is, in the space of only five days. This includes examination, custom-made implant order and production, surgery on both eyes and post-surgery check-up," Adam Janek adds.
In addition, the OCP team has excellent language skills, which means they speak fluent English and also German, Spanish or Italian. The process does not end with the surgery itself, as the team keep in touch with the patients. They are interested in how they feel and, if necessary, provide further consultations. "Many foreign patients trust our doctors so much that they return to us for check-ups, preventive examinations or other procedures and refer their family and friends to us."
Besides the actual medical work, Eye Centre Prague cooperates with Beauty in Prague on complex care for foreign clients. Beauty in Prague has operated as a health tourism agency for more than seventeen years. At the beginning, it used to focus more on plastic surgery, but in recent years they have expanded cooperation with other Prague clinics and nowadays they also focus on infertility treatment or eye surgeries. Tamara Ždiňáková, the agency director, says it’s eye surgeries that are now in the greatest demand.
"We have cooperated with OCP successfully for almost four years already. Our collaboration is based on trust, and we share the same goals. We both put a lot of emphasis on expertise and professionalism but also personal approach, which is something OCP looks to maintain as their key unique selling proposition even during their current rapid growth. Thanks to our exclusive partnership, we feel that our cooperation is intensifying, as we are finding synergies, which is then reflected both in the increasing number of clients and in their higher satisfaction," says Tamara Ždiňáková.
She also confirms that UK and Irish clients have high expectations on expertise, reliability, speed and continuous care. "We provide accompanying services for these clients such as air tickets, accommodation, airport transfers or transfers between the clinic and their hotel or leisure programmes during their stay in Prague. Our assistants also accompany them to medical treatments and procedures. The clients require that we are available to them at all times including evenings and weekends, at least on the phone, when they need to make sure of something or ask a question," adds the agency director.
"We realize how demanding this work is, both in terms of paperwork and people, and we are very happy that we can outsource it to our partner Beauty in Prague. We know that we can rely on them, that everything will work 100% and our clients will receive the best care in Prague. Which then means we can only focus on our work, expertise and the quality of the procedures performed," Adam Janek points out.
"British people are used to going abroad to get healthcare. This may be hard to imagine to us Czechs, but they take it easy. They are very sociable and friendly. From the first moment they arrive at the clinic, they want to talk and learn as much as possible about us and Prague. They often come with friends or family members and take the medical procedure as part of the trip. I feel that unlike us, they are more easy-going, they trust us and look forward to the result and quality of life after the surgery.''
Written by Jana Jenšíková
Photo credits: Luděk Krušinský, Beauty in Prague
Určitě jste si všimli, že u nás ani za čtení celých článků nic neúčtujeme a že vás neobtěžujeme vyskakovacími okny personalizované reklamy.
Velmi bychom ocenili, kdybyste nás na oplátku podpořili peněžitým darem na tento účet:
2021853028/5500
QR kód obsahuje údaje k platbě. Výše částky je na vás, budeme si vážit všech darovaných plateb.
Děkujeme 😊
Za obsah inzerce zodpovídá inzerent. Žádné části textu nebo fotografie z Trade News nebo www.itradenews.cz nesmí být používány, kopírovány nebo jinak šířeny v jakékoliv formě či jakýmkoliv způsobem bez písemného souhlasu vydavatele.