A cluster of private hospitals in the city has sought the state tourism department?s intervention in boosting the sagging image of Calcutta among medical tourists from Bangladesh.

At a recent meeting with minister of state for tourism Dinesh Dakua and officials of his department, representatives of the Association of Hospitals in Eastern India (AHEI) ? the largest body of private hospitals in the city ? tried to impress upon the government the need to form an alliance to hard-sell Calcutta?s treatment facilities in Bangladesh.

AHEI president Sajal Dutta, who was in the delegation that called on Dakua, said the meeting decided to organise a show in Dhaka, on the lines of Bangla Utsav or Travel and Tourism Fair, in March to project Brand Calcutta among medical tourist there. Representatives of the health, hotel and tourism and travel sectors will take part in the show and highlight the city?s USP ? proximity, value for money and language.

Dutta said there has been a sharp decline, around 30 per cent, in the last few years in the number of medical tourists from Bangladesh. (The annual turnover in health tourism now is estimated at Rs 200 crore.)

?For both the private and state healthcare, it remains a cause of concern that a patient from Khulna is flying to Singapore, instead of Calcutta,? Dutta added. ?We have some strong points to score over our rivals and woo patients back. The Dhaka show is aimed at cashing on those points.?

Apart from the publicity blitz, certain major players have decided to recast their operations and bring their services to the international standard.

?We have opened a shop in Birmingham to tap some of the best doctors there. The sole aim is to use their expertise while developing our human resources and preparing our hospital for the challenges ahead. We need to be in sync with the developments sweeping the world of medical sciences,? said S.B. Purakayastha of AMRI Hospitals.

According to the plan, doctors from the UK will be asked to conduct a few sessions with their counterparts here.

While some believe in roping in professionals from abroad, others have decided to strengthen their infrastructure and management, following the prescriptions of the US-based Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organisations.