CEBU CITY, Philippines – Efforts of stakeholders and industry leaders here are beginning to reap fruits as the city continues to attract more medical tourists from various parts of the globe ever since a series of marketing activities on Cebu’s own brand of medical tourism was launched two years ago.

Cebu Health and Wellness Council (CHWC) President Oscar Tuason said medical facilities here have been drawing medical tourists from around the world, boosting the local medical tourism industry.

“With our initiatives in the CHWC, we have been placing Cebu on the medical tourism world map and we have been getting quite a number of inquiries from abroad,” said Tuazon during the weekly 888 News Forum at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel in Cebu City yesterday.

Two years ago, Tuason the CHWC registered only some five medical travelers to Cebu per month. At present, he said, that number has grown to from 50 to 75 visitors wanting to avail of local medical tourism services.

“That's quite a big increase,” he said. Tuason, who is also the Administrator of Cebu Doctors' University Hospital (CDUH), announced that the hospital has obtained British accreditation, a development seen to boost medical tourism in the Visayan province.

CDUH is the first hospital in the Philippines to receive full-accreditation for two years by QHA Trent, a health care company owned and managed by a group of clinicians and experts based in the United Kingdom.

QHA Trent’s clinicians and experts actively work within Britain’s National Healthcare Service, which is the world’s largest publicly funded health system.

“Our accreditation from an international group means patients are assured of first-world country medical services while paying third-world country medical rates. It's not a bragging right but a constant reminder for hospital employees, doctors, and everyone that this is a privilege and together with the privilege we have the responsibility to uphold what the accreditation is all about,” said Tuason.

Said accreditation assures patients that the hospital has all safeguards, policies and procedures in place to ensure high-quality health care, Tim O’Carroll, Chairman of the QHA Trent Accreditation award panel, was quoted in a statement issued by the British embassy.

“With the Philippines looking increasingly to promote medical tourism, the need for local hospitals to obtain international accreditation is increasingly important,” British Ambassador Stephen Lillie added in the same statement.