Public or Private Healthcare

[Steven Ramadar]

What are your experiences with both if you have any.

I recently (5th June 2014) had a laparoscopy surgery to remove my appendix in the San Fernando General Hospital. Reason being about 1 week before we spent around $17,500 for a surgery for my mother in Gulf View Medical so we was recovering.
I had ward review 3 times... Today being the last. All times the time stated on the card was 8am. We always got through around 1pm.
Today however, at 2pm I got through. To add insult to injury they lost my notes. When they found it they mixed it up with someone else's.

I prefer private, although its expensive its worth it

 

[LadyDeath]

Wheyy..imagine if they gave you medications for another diagnosis. :shock: . I hate our public health system.. The Chaguanas Health Centre is located about 5-6 minutes away from me and i will never go there only if i run out of options. So many times my family have been ill treated by the public system . I rather Private all the way because you get good treatment due to paying your money. I have the AD MED card from Maritime and that saved me so many times.. Just go to emergency in any private medical institution and show them the card and one time you are wheeled to a bed and taken care of.

Recently i have gotten very sick with the "rolly polly" virus after carnival, coupled with low blood pressure and low blood count ..I had no 7,000 cash to pay to stay for the night in St. Joseph Medical but kept on coming back every day for 4 days straight to take drips and get meds. I was excellently taken care of by the staff & head of doctors Dr. Teelucksingh who got up of his bed in the middle of the night to see me . During that time i spent no money and my card covered everything.. I pay less than 200TT a month for this..Thinking about upgrading or going for A Dallion Card from Beacon which i hear is much better.

 

[Steven Ramadar]

Dr. Teelucksingh, sounds familiar I think I went to him once when I was like 8...not sure. If it is him he's a great doc and very professional

 

[LadyDeath]

Yup he's on Medical Matters as well and one of the best we have in T&T...

 

[Mr.Bollywood]

Yup he's on Medical Matters as well and one of the best we have in T&T...

yes! i've been to him before and he is truly amazing , he is a bit on the expensive side but he works very well and treats his patients like they're family!

 

[LadyDeath]

I personally think that instead of building useless boardwalks and zoo in Tobago that we do not need , our citizens would appreciate more hospitals or health centers in remote areas or upgrade the facilities.

 

[Mr.Bollywood]

I personally think that instead of building useless boardwalks and zoo in Tobago that we do not need , our citizens would appreciate more hospitals or health centers in remote areas or upgrade the facilities.

that would be highly beneficial to the general public! however this being trinidad ,and the "special" government and opposition we have, the focus would be more on tourism, rather than our very own locals, and honestly is anything really being done until election time comes around?

 

[LadyDeath]

Election is a waste yes! i don't even bother voting ..never did and never will with this rate!

 

[madsuya]

in my area the health center is good and ppl make use of it on a daily basis....so no bad talk there....now its opening up till 9pm for emergency only so i welcome this move...only thing is some employees doh do their work....

 

[Minipuff]

ok well i work in the PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEM and it has it benefits as well as it loss I NOT GOING GULF VIEW MEDICAL FOR NOTHING p.s (if you have a complication in surgery there they are rushing your behind straight to SFGH) and they still billing you. when it comes to notes missing and stuff like that the turn over of staff is to fast and there is no real training plus it is mainly OJTS right now who motto is well i aint here for long. all i can say is before you run private first see how best you can exhaust the public system first before you give these private institution you money and keep in mind IT IS THE SAME DOCTORS YOU SEEING EH . i not saying not to go private for certain things but work the system cause trust me the ppl who does make the most noise in the hospitals and by the pharmacy is those who could pay but refuse to

 

[LadyDeath]

I have had countless bad experiences in my area. I had to wait 5 hours with a severe lung infection many years ago on a hard bench without a backrest. I have had to wait 3 hours just to been seen by a doctor for bronchitis and cold/fever. Lastly i had to wait 3+ hours for a doctor to prescribe acid reflux tablets to me when i really was getting an anxiety attack.

The public sector has failed me too many times , i have my ADMED card and can freely go West Shore,St Clair medical, St. Augustine Private Medical, St Joseph Med, Etc. etc. and be wheeled in and given a bed asap! i pay less than 200TT a month & its totally worth it ! I like when i go into these private institutions and they treat me with care, proper diagnosis, run all tests possible, free food & drinks unlike with the public sector is like YOU LITERALLY BEGGING THEM TO HELP YOU!

 

[Minipuff]

i am not against you for accessing health care privately if you feel more comfortable and at ease then by all means you continue to do so cause i can agree with you for many things in the public sector but i have heard many horror stories from private sector as well i guess the problem is THE HEATH CARE SECTOR on a whole whether private or public there are alot of changes that need to be made starting with why are doctors who are fully employed in the public sector carrying on private practices that hours of work conflict to me that is the first problem that needs to be solved

 

[admin]

I be quite frank i was a Student RN Nurse (don't be alarmed lol) and the way the older head nurses used to conduct themselves i felt ashamed. Nurses and doctors in this country just don't seem to have the care they used to have ages ago, it seems its all about money and more money.

 

[Minipuff]

oooooooooooo HELLO NURSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cheer2::attention:

 

[MangaAddict]

Three years ago, I had a heart attack....at 27 My wife took me to the Princes Town Health Center, I was shocked by the service. It was prompt and impeccable! The triage nurse threw out the person she was attending to and saw me immediately, in less than 2 minutes I was on a stretcher being wheeled to a bed. I was immediately attended to by a doctor, got injections and a ton of tablets in the space of several minutes. They allowed my wife to stay by my side, then told me that I was having a second heart attack while on the bed. I was then rushed in an ambulance to Sando General, where I was immediately seen by a doctor, then after informing him of what transpired, he sent me up to the Cardiac Ward. I stayed for 5 days, the nurses (with the exception of 2) were very friendly and tolerant of my excessive phone and ipad usage. lol.(Despite my bed being right next to a no cell phones allowed sign.)
On day 5, I failed my stress test and was supposed to return to the ward to wait for god knows how long to get an angiogram done. I refused to stay....hospitals stress me out....alot... and I left against doctors advice. My wife had submitted my documents to social welfare and to my shock, I got a call days later to come in for the angiogram. I did it at Caribbean Heart Care. The staff and service there was flawless. It turned out that I needed emergency angioplasty because one of my arteries was 99.9% blocked. I returned to Sando Gen, only to be told that I would have to be re-warded. I refused and they said that the waiting period for my procedure could be over a year. I went to Social Welfare, they said the same, but I was adamant about not staying in the hospital. Two days later CHC called and told me to come in the next day for the procedure. I was stunned to say the least. All went well and I believe I'm fine now. lol. All in all, my experiences at both private and public was exception, thanks in large to the great staff there. I had heard soo many horror stories about the public sector, but those people saved my life....every last one of them...and I'm eternally grateful!

P.S. As bad as people say our government and the public health care is, the cost of my angiogram was $12,000. and angioplasty $120,000. I spent.....$0.00

 

[Steven Ramadar]

First time someone ever said something good about princes town hospital, if you know how much I hate to go there. But that treatment was rel good, some faith restored in the public health sector

 

[admin]

Three years ago, I had a heart attack....at 27 My wife took me to the Princes Town Health Center, I was shocked by the service. It was prompt and impeccable! The triage nurse threw out the person she was attending to and saw me immediately, in less than 2 minutes I was on a stretcher being wheeled to a bed. I was immediately attended to by a doctor, got injections and a ton of tablets in the space of several minutes. They allowed my wife to stay by my side, then told me that I was having a second heart attack while on the bed. I was then rushed in an ambulance to Sando General, where I was immediately seen by a doctor, then after informing him of what transpired, he sent me up to the Cardiac Ward. I stayed for 5 days, the nurses (with the exception of 2) were very friendly and tolerant of my excessive phone and ipad usage. lol.(Despite my bed being right next to a no cell phones allowed sign.)
On day 5, I failed my stress test and was supposed to return to the ward to wait for god knows how long to get an angiogram done. I refused to stay....hospitals stress me out....alot... and I left against doctors advice. My wife had submitted my documents to social welfare and to my shock, I got a call days later to come in for the angiogram. I did it at Caribbean Heart Care. The staff and service there was flawless. It turned out that I needed emergency angioplasty because one of my arteries was 99.9% blocked. I returned to Sando Gen, only to be told that I would have to be re-warded. I refused and they said that the waiting period for my procedure could be over a year. I went to Social Welfare, they said the same, but I was adamant about not staying in the hospital. Two days later CHC called and told me to come in the next day for the procedure. I was stunned to say the least. All went well and I believe I'm fine now. lol. All in all, my experiences at both private and public was exception, thanks in large to the great staff there. I had heard soo many horror stories about the public sector, but those people saved my life....every last one of them...and I'm eternally grateful!

P.S. As bad as people say our government and the public health care is, the cost of my angiogram was $12,000. and angioplasty $120,000. I spent.....$0.00

I'm not lying you had god on your side that period in your life man because all of that must be an act of god. This day we live in and the health care we have to endure you sure did come out great and i'm happy for that.

 

[MangaAddict]

I'm not lying you had god on your side that period in your life man because all of that must be an act of god. This day we live in and the health care we have to endure you sure did come out great and i'm happy for that.

Thanks bro, I really believe I did. I don't believe our health care system is broken, but I do believe people working there greatly affect the public's perception of it.

 

[LadyDeath]

Waw! Manga, i must say this is really good news. I trust that you are feeling better and recovering quite nicely? So sorry for what you went through but atleast you didn't have to study about financial worries for surgeries and thats an excellent thing.


I have heard alot of stories about Gulf *ERM* P. Medical . Some also say that if anything complicating happens its the same public hospital they have to carry you. Before i get married, i am saving up for LASIK eye surgery which is a corrective eye surgery for people with astigmatism. Depending on how bad your eyes are and if you are a candidate, after the surgery with proper intensive care, you might never have to wear glasses again. Of course i am going US to do this :/

 

[madsuya]

public health center in my area is good as i said before.......my pressure is always up an the health center opens till 9pm......up to last night i was there.....good move Mr Minister...