Top photo is of Bill Harris and assigned administrative aid Anup Handa. Anups job is to meet and return to the airport the incoming overseas patients. He also visits several times a day to make sure everything goes well and liases with the patient and the surgical team. He also arranged a few minor outings around Delhi to find gifts for friends. Anup told me that his 'salary' is only $300 a month or R12,000. in local currency. He is well paid by local standards but has no car and rents a room in a house - Photos Oct 2007
The Apollo Hospital in Delhi, India has about 50% more staff than you would find in a
US hospital. Probably due to the lower cost of help in India. The fee for my surgical team was only $3,200 of the overall cost of approx $15,000.Rooms are modern with shower, ice box, color TV. Most patients bring an 'attending' with them and they sleep in the room on a convertable sofa that pulls out into a bed. I brought no one with me and this seemed to amaze them and despite my repeatedly telling them that there was only one occupant for the room, I usually ended up with 2 meals being delivered.
Apollo Hospital is 10 years old and accredited by the same 'Joint Commission International' that accredits US hospitals.
Language is not a problem. All Doctors and Nurses speak English and the department supervisors of house keeping and kitchen also speak English. The lower echelon employees usually don't speak English. Almost all Doctors are US or UK trained. The only American employed there was the Apollo Hospital Director who was very helpful when I had a major loss due to a break in of a cabinet in my room.
Most Indians are of short stature and I usualy towered above most of them at my 6'4" height.
I had a lot more photos but in the break in my 2 cameras with those photos, was stolen. I did manage to get out to an electronics store and get a nice Sony replacement and thus had some photos to bring back.
