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

The SPBA has been talking about tackling some of these issues but a few more business people need to join the board! Help!!

"Vernon and Francis Wilson immediately stepped forward and provided their personal credit card and were charged 8500.00 U.S.D. by the hospital."

Do you think a San Pedro Doctor could afford this?

You lost me here. Please clarify the point of this post.

I believe that is the amount they wanted for Fred treatment

In a private hospital they require money - at KHMH (Gov't hospital) they don't.

1) Emergency care / stabilization / transfer is our goal.
Not definative care of a MI (cardiac cath, CABG, ect.) or any other condition.

2) This ER must have government funding to be viable long term.
(My personal opinion)

One step at a time, starting with a basic 24/7 emergency facility, transport and staffing.

Yes, when my baby David was sick we had to pay $8,000 Bz up front in the private hospital - okay, not immediately but once he was stabilized and admitted. When you schedule surgery at the private hospitals they expect to be paid in cash too.

But the KHMH would have been free for the emergency admittance but the ankle surgery would have carried a cost.

I agree with Dr. Tommy - let's focus on the emergency care issue first - save lives - and then move on to possibly adding a true hospital to the island.

Amanda, Is it possible,while this plan is in the works, that the island doctors could work together to provide some sort of on call schedule? I think Natalie mentioned the first responders have been doing a fairly effective job. Most of the complaints I have heard deal with not being able to find a physician when needed. I know this is a baby step in this overall plan, but it will certainly take some time before the emergency care plan can be implemented.

Here in Keighley all the local Doctors got together and take it in turns to man a room at the local hospital at nights and at the weekends. You can not go and see them without phoning before hand to make an appointment.

ACERS are doing a great job as first responders.
I think it's important to have a nurse at an ER center 24 hours a day.A nurse would be able to be present and maybe allow a doctor to rest in a room at the center when it's quiet, or to even be on call if doctors are not willing to be physically present. Even the doctors that are on call at the Polyclinic do not have a nurse to assist them when they have emergencies out of hours. Another problem is that most people would still try to find the doctor of their liking even when he/she is not on call. They know how to find them.
We need to keep it simple to start with and then grow from there. A basic ER is needed, I think ideally at the Polyclinic,that is open 24 hours a day.I believe that this won't be accomplished until GOB is willing to hire nurses on shifts to cover the ER. The way things are right now, valuable time is wasted looking for medical help when it is urgently needed.