BANGALORE: Anita (46) has come all the way from West Bengal to Bangalore to undergo treatment for her singlesided paralytic body and migraine.
Accompanied by her younger brother, the long stay in the hospital will not bother her much till she is treated for the neurological disorder in NIMHANS.
On being asked why NIMHANS has become her preferred treatment facility, she said, "We do not have adequate facilities in Kolkata and doctors asked us to visit NIMHANS for better treatment."
Her brother said the cost factor was also important.
"In any private establishment, we will have to shell out lakhs for the same treatment which is been provided here," he said.
There are many like Anita who have travelled from faroff places like Assam, Orissa, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and the northern eastern states, apart from neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to get treatment for various neurological and psychiatric problems at the institute.
There are long queues at the out patients department even in the early hours of OPD days.
According to the medical records department of NIMHANS, besides the 79 per cent patients from Karnataka, six per cent come from Andhra Pradesh, six per cent come from Tamil Nadu, two per cent come from Kerala and seven per cent come from other parts of the country.
NIMHANS sees more than over 1,000 patients in its OPD every day.
Medical Superintendent, NIMHANS, V L Sateesh said besides the hospital and treatment facilities, cost and expertise of doctors were also factors that make patients from other states come to the institute for treatment.