MORE than 70,000 Brits will have medical treatment ABROAD this year.

“Health tourists” will book online and fly to India, Malaysia and Europe to avoid superbugs and waiting lists here.  Treatments include heart surgery and hip operations, figures revealed yesterday.

India is the top destination, followed by Hungary – popular for dental treatment – and Turkey.  The Treatment Abroad website shows Brits have used 112 hospitals in 48 countries.

Shadow health secretary Andrew Lansley called the findings a “terrible indictment” of government policies.  The Health Department said those going abroad were a tiny fraction of the 13million treated by the NHS each year.