Information about RECOUP by people who have actually been there
RSI Treatment Programme for Overseas Patients
All information about the RECOUP treatment programme for overseas patients has now been moved from the main RECOUP website to Dr Sharan's personal site.
Claims on the website
Treatment
Dr Sharan's website claims overseas patients spend most of the day at RECOUP undergoing various therapies or reading about RSI in the library/resource center. Where we were in Bangalore, the library was the staff room where a few books on RSI were kept in locked cupboards. Finding who has the key was time consuming and frustrating.
You will note that treatment is available on all days (including Sundays and Public Holidays) because the staff at RECOUP are overworked. On Sundays we found few senior therapists worked and we were assigned juniors who knew nothing about our conditions.
Dr Sharan claims a greater than 95% success rate but given that not one of the patients contributing to this site got better we strongly dispute this.
Please see the main page in this section for further claims about the treatment programme.
The location
The location of the new RECOUP hospital is a long way out of town and it is difficult to find taxis and autos willing to take you there or available for you once you are there. In other words, this clinic is not suitable for overseas patients. You can see a map of the RECOUP hospital location on the RECOUP website.
The cost
In order to access the RSI treatment program you must stay at the RECOUP hospital. The cost of stay in the "Delux Room" is Rs. 50,000 (USD $1,050, GBP £640) per month and the cost of treatment is approximately Rs. 65,000 (USD $1,370, GBP £830) per month. No investigations or tests are included and Alexander Technique lessons are charged separately. You will also note food isn't included in this price and given the isolated nature of the hospital you may find this difficult. As "an average stay in Bangalore for 12 weeks is recommended" this would amount to Rs. 345,000 (USD $7,280, GBP £4,415). We believe this is an exorbitant amount of money to charge for India - especially for the accommodation. While at RECOUP in 2006 it was possible to stay in a luxury apartment in central Bangalore for Rs. 25,000 (USD $527, GBP £320) per month.
The therapists
Dr Sharan's website claims "The core group of therapists have been with RECOUP since its inception in 2001." This core group must be tiny as we know for a fact that 90% of the senior therapists have left in the last two years. See our news section for an email from an ex-therapist about this.