Curious...Medical Emergency?

[lenfest@cti912]

I know all of the Couples resorts have a nurse on duty at least some of the time, but I was wondering if anyone has directly experienced or witnessed a serious medical emergency while at Couples. I was just curious...what kind of training does the staff have...does Jamaica have an equavilent to our 9-1-1 system...if you are taken to an emergency room what level of care would you receive compared to what we would expect in the States...things like that. I was especially curious about medical facilities in Ocho Rios since we will be visiting CTI later this year--not that I expect to need it (knock on wood!).

[Rose_dave]

Jamaica has the equivelant of the 9-1-1 system it is 1-1-9 there. I have been to the nurse a couple of times at Couples Negril for what would be considered minor issues in North America and the docotor had to be called in. The doctor comes by when needed. You have the option of an emergency call which of course costs more or if it is not that serious and you can wait they will call him and ask him to come by when available which costs less. The care I recieved was on par to what would be recieved in the USA or Canada. The doctor is about 20 minutes away and the doctor I was treated by was trained in the US.

The nurses in Jamaica can not treat anything under the skin surface so if you get a sliver/splinter or swimmers ear they will call a doctor.

[rhallva]

This is no fun to talk about, but emergency medical care in Jamaica is ... no good. A couple of years ago a gentleman suffered a heart attack at another resort in Negril and had to go by taxi cab to Montego Bay. In other words, no life support on the way as we would have in an ambulance at home. Once at the Cornwall Hostpital in MoBay he unfortunately passed away. The Hospital is not on par with what any of us is used to at home.
There is a clinic about 20 min from Negril (Sav La Mar) for minor injury and illness, but it is not for serious conditions.

Here is what I suggest (and what I always do). Check out the Hope Medical Clinic in MoBay. You can find them with a google search. I have been told that if you MUST get medical care in Jamaica this is the place to go. I keep their number in my phone as does my wife whenever we are in Jamaica.

There are plans and fundraising in the works for a quality medical facility in Negril but it is far from a reality yet.

BTW- We also always have inurance for Medical Evacuation in case it were to be necessary.
All the best-

[FlynnStone]

This is not about an acute emergency, but I did recently require immediate medical assistance. Last month at CSS, I experienced a bad infection in my legs that required a doctor. The nurse recognized right away that my leg was infected (I just thought it was swollen) and had the doctor on site within 3 hours. There is a clinic and hospital in St. Ann's Bay, but this worked out just fine.

The doctor came to my room, assessed my condition, brought me an antibiotic, and followed up twice while I was at the resort. Excellent care. My total cost was US$250, which really was not bad for that level of care. AND it meant I could enjoy my vacation without worry. (I just could not drink all those rum punches while on the meds... ).

[Spiff542]

For minor cuts, scrapes, sprains, and minor illnesses the nurse/doctor at CSA are great. Caring, and effective. I only have second hand knowledge regarding serious stuff such as broken bones, life threatening illnesses etc.

From what I have heard though.......

It is charitable to say that the level of care in a Jamaican hospital will not live up to your expectations. I have been told many times that in Jamaica, the two places you never ever want to go to are jail, and the hospital.

[Bert]

Sort of embarrassing...but I was playing tennis with my wife and thought I would get fancy and put a little top spin on the return. I gave an aggressive swing...and hit myself in the mouth with the edge of the tennis racket (not much of a player I guess ).

For a brief moment I thought I had lost my front teeth and would come home from Jamaica with a golden grill! I am so glad that all I had was a fat lip. The nurse gave me ibuprofen then I self-medicated with copious amounts of Red Stripe.

[axmh1985]

Lol ... Bert your post made me giggle : p Thanks to alcohol and stupidity I now have an angry exausted pipe burn on my leg, so it's good to hear that they can call in a doctor. I have been so zapped with antibiotics in the past 2 days though, I'm hoping I won't need it! If you see the girl with the bandaged leg looking wantingly at the pool next week at CTI, say hello!

[Bert]

I am not a doctor, but...

Years back, the Grateful Dead were playing 9 shows at Madison Square Garden. Of course I had to go to all of them (plus another 3 up at Boston Garden). I was coming down with something, went to the company doc and he gave me antibiotics. I said "oh, by the way, I have 12 Grateful Dead shows over the next two weeks...can I drink while taking this?" He said "I don't see why not." So I did!

Irie!

[jgsaks]

Jane & I have personally witnessed medical emergencies while in Jamaica. Our experience has taught us that medical practices in Jamaica generally can't hold a candle to those available in the United States. We have seen emergencies that ranged from heart attacks to a fractured wrist that could not be handled well in the medical facilities in Jamaica. These were treated both in Kingston and in Ocho Rios. If you need emergency transport from Jamaica to the United States make sure that your health insurance will pay for it. If not, we highly recommend travel insurance that will ensure emergency transfer from Jamaica to the US. It is extremely inexpensive and you give you the assurance that you will need if an emergency arises.

[MsHoo]

I purchased insurance before I left and it was only $98 for the week for both of us. $100K medical. $1M emergency.

[jls8756]

After a possible heart attack incident at CSS, the absence of any AED (Automated External Defribrillators) at the resort was discussed at length with management at the repeat guest dinner. The new (last fall), assistant manager was very clear that the reason they do not have them was LIABILITY ISSUES! It had nothing to do with cost (around $1000). He said that if they had one on property, they were worried about the liability if it was not used or if it was used improperly. I was horrified that they were more worried about liability than the life of a guest. As it was, it took the nurse about 25 minutes to get to the scene. In the meantime, a guest who was in the medical profession helped out and the patient ended up being ok. Couples, please rethink this policy!

[Sublimebrad]

My wife broke her ankle at CSA while walking down some steps near Lemongrass. It was very dark and she fell. They brought her a wheelchair and called a doctor who came to our room within 30 minutes. He wrapped it up, offered to take us to his office for x-rays but we delined. He gave her some AWESOME pills which still work great. Our travel insurance paid for the expense so no worries.