Reading for the decision, not for the sale

A floor, not a guarantee

Accreditation tells you that a hospital met a defined standard on the day it was assessed, on the things the standard measures. That is a meaningful signal — it covers infection control, medication safety, records, consent, and whether the hospital measures its own outcomes — and we will not list a hospital without it. It is not a promise about your operation, and it is not a UK regulator. Nobody inspects these hospitals on the NHS’s behalf.

NABH, and the distinction that matters most

NABH is the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers, a constituent board of the Quality Council of India. Full hospital accreditation involves an on-site assessment against several hundred objective elements, a surveillance visit in year two and reassessment in year four. Its hospital standards are themselves accredited by ISQua, the international body that accredits accreditors.

NABH also runs an entry-level certification aimed at organisations beginning their quality journey. It is a different assessment against a different standard, and a hospital holding it can reasonably describe itself as NABH-certified. This is the single most useful thing to know when reading any Indian hospital’s marketing: “NABH” on its own does not tell you which one. Every entry on our register names which the hospital holds.

JCI, and whether it is “better”

Joint Commission International is a United States-based accreditor and is more widely recognised outside India, which is why some hospitals pursue it alongside NABH. The two are different rather than ranked. A hospital holding both has been assessed twice against two different standards, which is worth something. Neither tells you how many of your specific operation the unit performs, which is why we ask for that figure separately and in writing.

How to check it yourself

NABH publishes a searchable directory of accredited and certified organisations. JCI publishes a list of accredited organisations by country. Individual doctors are listed on the Indian Medical Register maintained by the National Medical Commission. All three are public and free, and the links are on our Privacy & Safety page under “Don’t trust us. Check us.” If a hospital or a coordinator cannot point you at the entry, treat the claim as unverified — including ours.

Health data is special category data

Under UK GDPR your medical history, imaging and even the fact that you are enquiring about a knee replacement are “special category” personal data, which can only be processed with an extra lawful condition — in our case, your explicit consent. That is why a first call with us collects no medical information at all, and why the enquiry form on this site asks only for your name, contact details and the treatment you are interested in.

What “restricted transfer” means

India has no UK adequacy decision, which means UK law does not treat its data protection regime as equivalent. Sending your records there is permitted, but only with safeguards: a written international data transfer agreement with each hospital, a transfer risk assessment, and your informed, explicit consent given after you have been told exactly where the data goes and who sees it. We put those in place before the first record leaves the country, and we will show you the agreement if you ask.

Who sees what

Your coordinator at Sevanta. The surgeon and clinical team at the hospitals you have chosen to be considered by — not every hospital on our register. Our partner organisation in India sees your travel and admission details, not your clinical records, unless you ask us to share them. Nobody else, and nobody for marketing.

What you can insist on

A copy of everything we hold about you. Deletion of your enquiry at any time before you contract with us. Withdrawal of consent to the transfer at any time, which stops further sharing though it cannot recall what a hospital already holds under its own obligations. A stated retention period, which is printed in our privacy notice. And a route to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you think we have got any of it wrong.

Six weeks out: records and people

Ask your GP surgery for your summary care record and any recent blood results, and ask the hospital that did your imaging for the scans themselves, not just the report. Tell your GP what you are planning; you do not need their permission, but you will want them informed and, ideally, willing to receive the record when you are home. If you have a companion, confirm their dates now. Passports need six months’ validity for an Indian e-visa.

Four weeks out: the surgeon’s list

After your video consultation the surgeon will give you a pre-operative list, and it overrides anything here. It usually covers which medications to continue and which to stop and when — blood thinners, some diabetes and blood pressure medication, supplements — and whether any UK tests are needed first. Stopping smoking, if you smoke, is the single change with the most evidence behind it for surgical recovery, and four weeks is enough to matter.

Two weeks out: money and paper

Travel insurance that explicitly covers planned treatment abroad should be in place before any deposit is paid to the hospital. Print the hospital’s written quotation, its complications policy and its cancellation terms, and take them with you. Arrange how you will pay the hospital — most accept card or bank transfer on an invoice, and your bank may need warning about a large overseas payment. Your UK physiotherapy should be booked by now; we do that with you.

The week before: packing for a hospital, not a holiday

Loose clothing that goes over a dressing or a brace. Slip-on shoes with a closed heel. Your own medication in its original packaging, with a printed list. Reading glasses, a phone charger with an Indian adaptor, and something long to read. A copy of every document above. For joint replacement, compression stockings if the surgeon has asked for them. Leave the ambitions for the trip at home: you will spend most of it in or near the hospital, and that is the plan working.

The day you land

A named member of our partner team meets you in arrivals. Drink water on the flight and walk the aisle; the clot risk is real in both directions. Admission is usually the following day. If anything about the hospital, the room or the plan differs from what you were told in writing, tell your coordinator before you sign anything — that is what the UK-hours number is for.