AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye The care and emergency treatment of Mr. Fred Somes

OK sweetjane - you are a socialist but you can drink the tap water. At least I haven't had any problem with it so far. If you have to save pennies then that is your problem and not mine. I'll bet you have never lived the poverty and deprivation I have but I don't whine about it. I am not trying to pick a fight as it would be much better if we could get on with trying to find a solution but please keep the class warfare out of this (by the way how is it that animals are poor? Never heard that one before or rich animals for that matter).

TravelinMan1 has it right. Just put on a small charge (I would prefer voluntary) if that is the way to go. Just remember the reason there are not more people visiting Belize is because of the huge tax already levied against visitors using the international airport. The charge could be one that is autommatically added but with the stipulation that it is voluntary and it can be removed at the payor's request (sweetjane).

What I had in mind is not a "fire station" with trained personel on the clock just washing a golf cart during their down time.

I'm referring to an actual E.R. as the "central location". The need for the 24/7 staffing is because many of the emergencies will be brought to this location by: family, friends and volunteers who would rather rush the patient to this location rather than call and wait on the ambulance cart.

Yes, 24/7 staffing is expensive and at times is wasteful. But it is the best way to decrease response time therefore increase survival rates.

This E.R. should not be allowed to be abused and used as an after hours or "free" clinic for non-emergencies like here in the US. There a non-emergent case could be told to present themselves to one of the local doctors during regular clinic hours.

Volunteers would still play a major role but should not be exclusively responsible for the emergency medical care for a population of this size.

I don't think that tourists and condo owners should be the only ones "taxed" to pay for this service.

Martin - would you kindly share your emergency-organization qualifications with the readers of this board - methinks they would be impressed.

Yes you can drink the water, and the kids are poor in part because the taxes are already too high.

The second homes of our local politicians in foreign lands are much more troubling to me than the second homes of rich foreign persons on Ambergris Caye.

Saga is doing a great job with the poor animals and every dollar you donate goes directly to projects (IMHO).

Every time you levy a dollar in tax money you spend a significant portion of that dollar to collect, enforce and administer the tax.

I am surprised that some people here think the locals should be taxed even more! Those condo owners from the US and Canada are paying substantial taxes at home for the services they have, why not in Belize? I think most of the locals are just making it as it is and another tax would be unfair. Those of us who can afford to vacation in Belize, own condos or houses or have a profitable business there sould be able to come up with a little extra cash for the betterment of Belize. An emergency service will not run without cash.
The last time I used Goldson (March)the tax was $35.00US (or maybe $37)and that is on par with other airport taxes in the Caribbean islands I have been to.

It is the local's duty to ensure that the medical care is available - and it should be at the local's cost. The government should fund this via our tax dollars. Many of us make our income from tourists and we should protect them and keep them healthy and alive.

I think in most cases tourists and workers come to AC because of the added advantages of some basic services and amenities. There are certainly more places in Belize that actually offer a more realistic look at Belize then AC.

The cost of living here on Ambergris Caye is higher then any other place in Belize and there is a reason for that.

A $1 tax used for emergency services here on Ambergris Caye might do some of the following depending on the amount of cash it would generate (easy to determine by simply looking at the numbers).

- Implement an emergency medial service 24/7/365
- Implement an island security or policing service

Both of the above are needed and would make AC a better place for locals and visitors alike.

In regards to current tax levels they are very low at this time and if we want to have services they must be paid for. You can't expect people to work for nothing.

In regards to what should be done I will leave that up to more qualified people (doctors) but I would think that a combination of ER at the polyclinic and paramedic services working out of the same location would provide the assistance needed.

Volunteers are important but you cannot discount the value of full time employees who know:

- Where they are going
- What equipment to bring
- Have the transportation to get there
- Can respond in a timely fashion

Emergency medical services are just that. They must be rendered in a timely and effective manner. If you respond to a heart attack with a band aid you are not helping anyone. Training and equipment can be donated but paying someone every week requires an income stream.

If the price of your tropic ticket goes up by $1 and the price of your water taxi ticket goes up by the same amount I don't think anyone would notice.

By the way maybe the number is not $1 maybe it is .50 cents. I think someone could easily figure this out.

I have spoken with Minister Heredia and Mayor Paz about this issue numerous times. We have discussed many ways to improve the local fire service and medical care.

To organize a proper medical team/ER type situation one thing must be done. A local doctor needs to be in control and manage it. Medical facility, supplies, protocols, continuing education and other issues will constantly need attention.

Now let's bring in real world Belize issues. If a "tax" was raised to fund this, who collects, accounts and distribute the dollars?

So let's say a full time paramedic program was started, now what? Who writes their protocols, who is the base station contact, what legal issues are there?

I think an "EMS Summit" in San Pedro would be a good idea. Get the folks with the expertise to come down and meet with the local responders and put our heads together to find a workable solution. Is that a tax write off trip to SP????

And SJ, I get your points, like I have said before, sometimes the folks here on AC.com care more than the residents about certain issues.

A common theme on this board is that proposed condo and hotel developments are going to ruin AC. The aging population, who have the capital resources to buy their dream place in the sun, are the ones who place the highest demand on emergency health care. Most municipal governments charge development fees to developers to provide for the increased infrastructure required as a result of their developments. Of course, the developers include these extra costs in determining selling prices. While these tourist developments will not likely place an increased demand on the school system, they will certainly place an increased demand on medical, police and fire services. It only makes sense that the developers should foot the bill to provide adequate facilities. I believe that the South Beach proposal includes medical facilities. Ongoing operational expenses can be covered by tax revenue and/or user fees. I see no problem in the government attempting to pass part of the operating costs off on tourism if tourism is using the service. It's a delicate balance. Charge too much, and tourists go elsewhere. Don't provide adequate emergency response service, tourists go elsewhere.

Nice to see this topic continuing... a couple points:

1)"Just paying emergency personnel:: let's assume that the money can be found with taxation or donation (which is a big if...),

a)there are no paramedics in San Pedro that are trained to the standards those posting here would expect. The paramedics in Belize City are trained at a basic EMT level and there are very few. Having these people in San Pedro would mean training them somewhere else (very costly) or bringing them in an paying them North American Wages... expensive and politically difficult re: paying foreigners big bucks

b)paying physicians- there has long been a hesitancy to licensing foreign physicians for fear of them taking over and interfering with the ability of Belizean physicians to earn a living and maintain influence on what is rightly their system. This may explain why it took Dr. Tina 8 years to get a license if in fact she finally has one. This sentiment I can very much understand and has to be treated sensitively. We can't just pop in 10 North American ER docs and let them run and clinic where they bill whatever they want to fund the clinic... not gonna happen politically.

2)Taxation- big issue that I'm not gonna tackle fully but very tough battle to fight and also to make sure that $ collected for health make it to health. Money has a way of going into a central pool for general use and other purposes. I'll leave this one alone.

3)Having an ER- this is a laudable goal and one I would like to see happen but we are a many steps away from this, finances a side. A good start would be having someone on call, whether a local doc, a volunteer from away or whatever works. The staff simply do not exist to have an ER at this time. We came to Belize thinking just that but have spent most of our time training lay people in basic skills because that's who is around and looking to be trained and that's the level of training in the community. The model is that each time these people gain more skills and can do more. As we extend this, and more people come into help and work together, an ER may be viable but is not at this time.

Again, let's work together to make sure that progress continues on this issue.