Well, if you're ever going to need a broad range of medical treatments when in India, then Jaipur is the place to be. When we arrived, we had all been in denial over the fact that we weren't quite up to scratch on the health front. All experienced travellers, with absolutely no history of any stomach troubles ever, there was no way we were going to give into the gradually increasing discomfort that had been lurking for a few days. Until we reached Jaipur, when it all became too much for one of us, who retreated to her room, armed with buckets and a catering pack of loo roll.
Eventually, we realised that a doctor was needed, and we were provided with the details of the 'Tourist Doctor'. A kindly gentleman with an excellent command of English, he arrived within 15 minutes and proceeded to give our friend the benefit of a medical consultation that you would only get if on a private health care plan at home. 'Dysentery', he declared, and already armed with the appropriate drugs, left our friend with a selection of pills and potions to sort things out. The rest of us kept quiet and tried to convince ourselves that all we had was a bit of a stomach upset.
The services of the doctor did not end there, either. After diagnosis, he then maintains 72-hour contact with the patient in the form of phone calls and however many repeat visits are needed. The following day, our friend was already feeling better when disaster struck in the form of a car accident. Another one of our party had gone with our driver to the bank, and the car had been hit on the passenger side by a bus. The car, which would have been a write-off at home, was a mess, but fortunately, our friend, our driver, and some of the bus passengers escaped with cuts and bruises. The bus driver and conductor disappeared off into the wide blue yonder which, according to the police, is not unusual when someone has caused an accident. When our friend returned to the hotel (by taxi), she was obviously very shaken, and we thought it prudent to get medical advice again.
The Tourist Doctor hot-footed it to the hotel, where he once again did his rigorous medical examination and pronounced our friend to be in shock, and her blood pressure was through the roof. (Surprise, surprise!) More drugs were dispensed from his cavernous bag, and both of our friends spent the next two days being attended to by the doctor. Before leaving Jaipur, the doctor provided professionally written medical reports for insurance purposes and accounts of the treatment and drugs dispensed for our friend's doctors. On return to the UK, our doctors were impressed with the Tourist Doctor's treatment and confirmed that the correct drugs had been prescribed. I just wish my sister and I hadn't been quite so complacent about our 'stomach issues' and consulted the doctor at the same time. After leaving Jaipur, the pair of us were eventually hit with dysentery and were ill for weeks on return to the UK. The call-out charges for the doctor, including the 72 hours of aftercare, were about R1500. The cost of any drugs is added to this. The Tourist Doctor's details are as follows:
Dr Rajan Garg
Mediclaim Panacea
Mobile Phone No: 9828103456