I think you are correct - my wife was charged P600 for a VERY SMALL plastic bowl (as she was feeling ready to vomit) and we later found exactly the same bowl in Mercury for P24.

Also, her operation had to be repeated at Holy Child - it was not exactly the same but was similar (in fact, it is quite possible the extent of the operation in Silliman was unnecessary and she could have had just the operation in Holy Child). Prices: Silliman - 3 days inpatient (IMO totally unnecessary even to be an inpatient) at P87.000; Holy Child - 15 minutes stay and a cost of P5000. There were other issues at Silliman, which I will not go into here, but there is a doctor there I would not use even if I was dying.

 

So when she had to vomit, was anybody inclined to get to the nearest Mercury drug to purchase the bowl for P24? I think $12 US is not such a bad price. Not trying to “defend” Silliman as a great hospital; however I took tests results from Silliman Cardio to my US doctor recently and she (US FILAM) already knew Silliman was well recognized here and did not repeat the tests. The doctors there are very competent regardless of the 1st come 1st served policy. We are here on our annual visit making use of our Medicare B and medigap policies and obviously there is no comparison in the quality of the facilities and care but it is good to have a place like Silliman as an intermediate step when something goes wrong before returning back to the home country to get the long term issues taken care of. However, I do fully understand the complaints that have to do with attitude of the personnel for which there is no excuse, where they have much less competition than 1st world medical infrastructure.


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Not to denigrate doctors, but... I use Silliman regularly, after some years having identified doctors in which I have the most confidence... but cardio and other test results are to be credited to technologists. Likewise, nursing is to be credited to nurses. Both these occupations, technologist and nurse, are probably trained to higher standards, in the Philippines, than many medical doctors. For nursing in particular, there is greater competition to succeed in school. There is a story, years old, that I had from a personal acquaintance of the doctor, about a Silliman male doctor who set about to re-train at Silliman in nursing. He flunked his first course. IMHO, and my source agreed, he probably dogged it, assuming that his medical training was more rigorous than a course in nursing. He was mistaken.

 

This is my story with our friends at S.U.M.C.F. : -

There is also a certain doctor there I wouldn't use again either and sadly, I was dying. This was after 4 days in the hospital, me drifting in & out of consciousness, as peritonitis and septicemia established a firm grip.
The only reason that I'm still here is that on the advice of my oncologist in Manila, my family medivac-ed me to her hospital.
The consultant, operating surgeon there, told my family my chances of survival were 1 in 4, because of age and how close I was to septic shock because of the delay in competent treatment.
He & his team operated on me, within a few hours of arrival, I survived a 6-7 hour surgery & 4-5 days in ICU. They had also arranged units of blood, my group is very rare here in Philippines, before I arrived, as did a club I am in too at that hospital.
Yes, it was expensive, had I not had insurance I would have had quite a situation. The only things I go back to Silliman for normally now, are to do blood work for my hospital in Manila or to see/visit my friends who are doctors there for the last 30 years.

 

I recommend purchasing travel insurance with emergency flights. I have visited several hospitals in Dumaguete. Not a place you want to find yourself... For the money/coverage check out safetywing.com.. haven't found one more reasonably priced with all the coverage needed to stay alive..

 

I did say that we found the bowl at P24 "later" - so at the time my wife was about ready to vomit we did not have that information and didn't even know what the bowl we were going to get from the nurse looked like or cost.

But next time we have an immediate problem we will send out search parties to the local drugstores for alternatives.

I agree in absolute value that $12 is not a huge sum of money in our positions, but the post was about the profit-making issue. You could say that a tin of beans at $12 is okay because "$12 US is not such a bad price" but if the usual price is about P24 then I think most are inclined to find $12 exorbitant.

Anyway, most postings here are about more important 'life and death' issues and I think we are well served by this forum giving us information to make important decisions about healthcare in the future.

 

Absolutely. And that is why we should not concentrate on P600 vomit bowls and discuss the capabilities of SUMC which are many, and perhaps the best we have for now, as we ensure that measures are in place to evacuate to the first world for the long term solutions. That is the best we can do.


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This is the one my family used: -
https://www.facebook.com/rapidinc
Hotline: ( +63 32) 413 2165 Sun: 0933 946 8588 Globe: 0915 467 4995

And it worked for me, one doctor, 2 paramedics on board, oxygen, etc etc.

 

Just a quick question, where did you medivac to? Manila or overseas? Thanks!


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