Health & Wellness Health and Hospitals

I assumed the UK would be like Oz where the majority of Doctors are either Indian-Pakistani or African... The only really good Doc I had back in Oz was Chinese!

 

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I had a head on collision with a big truck, not going as fast as you and my injury's not as bad. Fractured fumur but my break was in the centre even so had to have two ops and a bone graft. Left me with a shorter leg about 3 inches.

 

I have known many in my youth who broke legs and arms etc and all healed fine, I often joke that I AM the "Original Bad Luck Brian" not that red headed guy in all of the internet memes, but fact is I am alive today so that makes me really LUCKY!

Do you wear built-up shoes and do you know of anyone here in Dumageuete who might be able to make up a pair of built-up shoes?

I had a pair of Johnny Reb long (Biker) Boots back in Oz but left them there as the leather tore across the top of the boot and they were 23 years old! I had the left heel cut down 1" and the right heel built up 2" to give me a 3" help up as 6" is too much and too dangerous to walk in.

I had planned to buy another pair of the lower cut Johnny Reb (USA oil resistant sole stitched Boots not the Asian glued rubbish) and have them modified but it seems no one I know back in Oz are interested in helping me with the purchase of another pair and sending here. It would be great if there is a Boot maker here in Dumaguete who can make a quality (disability) Boot or modify a suitable shoe where I can gain a bit of a lift with each step instead of placing extra stress on my lower back. But not a pair of those Club Feet looking shoes the medical mobs make back in Oz!

 

Yeah I have to wear built-up shoe. Had all made up in the UK before I came to pH. The shoe repair men at the Dumagete market might be able to help.

 

You would not be wrong in that assumption

 

As someone who has a background in health care in the UK, Australia and worked in areas around Asia where we had to use local hospitals I have this to offer.
Healthcare in any country has great variables good doctors bad doctors good hospitals lousy hospitals.

Expats seem to have no plans what to do in the event of an medical emergency, some come here with insufficient funds to manage serious medical illness. Medical insurance or having an emergency fund seems to get ignored.
The gold standard these days for a heart attack is fast movement from emergency room to the angiography suite for insertion of stents to open the coronary arteries.
Angiography is only available in Cebu or Manila and I dont know whether they follow worlds best practice in swift transfer to the angiography suite for treatment by an interventional cardiologist.
However......clot busting drugs for treatment of a heart attack have been for 15-20 years and if given in a timely manner can clear blood flow to coronary arteries in under an hour. Country paramedics in Victoria Australia give it on route to a hospital.
So why Silliman hospital cant treat a heart attack.......I dont know its not difficult the drugs might be a bit expensive.
Anybody in Siquijor .........good luck I have had an opportunity to see whats in their hospital and an expat I heard of who had a serious injury they refused to treat but did give the name of a boatman who could ferry him to Dumaguete. Subsequently following his CT scan he was transferred to Cebu as Silliman has no neurological facilities.

So I would urge people to have a plan that they discuss with friends and family have some money stashed away and have some idea of who they can contact for emergency transport. Rhoyle airlines at Dumaguete will fly you to Cebu or Manila for a price. Establish which hospitals you would like to go to.......all in Manila and Cebu is not good I went to the Holy Child in Cebu had a quick look at the Resuscitation area -no space and no equipment and thought ...........good luck to anybody hoping to be resuscitated there.

 

They can and did treat it, for my deceased friend. They just did not do a good job of it. Lack of decent equipment perhaps? I mean having a couple of young girls pushing on a manual airbag ventilator all night because they don't have a machine to do it until the guy in the next bed over dies sounds like something they could improve on.

 

I have resigned myself to the inevitable, I understand the risks of living here and have led a blessed life thus far so when my time is up it is up. I do not hold any hope of survival should a worse case scenario occur, and should I survive then bonus! Such is life... You cannot live forever.

 

BECAUSE, Now davy what is the story?