Best Posts in Thread: Hospitals in Dumaguete

so this is an area deserving our attention;

1) studies show generally that roughly 85 percent of patients who go to a GP/FP doctor will get well regardless of the visit. doctors are trained to look for that other 15 percent that need their intervention. symptoms lasting "over a year" or involving "fullness of the throat" certainly warrant a qualified doctors opinion.
2) antibiotics are misused all over the world. more than 70 percent of all antibiotics are used in animal husbandry as a prophylactic, typically in animal feed (for fish farm food in the phils). this use contributes to development of bacterial resistance all over the world to antibiotics including many used for tx of humans.
3) many countries still do not control antibiotic use, notable southern european countries. the phils technically do but its no problem still to find them over the counter here. if nothing else there are plenty of doctors here who will write you a prescription for any legal drug for the price of a 4 to 6 dollar office call.
4) as a septuagenarian, my cynicism is virtually complete. follow the money! every doctor and pharmacist and nurse and hospital administrator has a mortgage, kids in college and/or shareholders to take care of. i have no doubt many requirements in civilized countries has a financial incentive for someone in the loop.

mothers should still take care of their kids with salt water gargle for new symptoms if they think that is what is needed. people with long term symptoms which are getting worse should see a doctor.

 

I did appreciate very much your willingness to help - but was trying to deter people with any change within the body (this is how I define a possible illness, 'a change'*) from leaving it too long and allowing the condition to pass the 'can be helped' date.

* For those who will pick me up on this and write about all the marvellous changes they have experienced - such as waking up feeling happier - I am not talking about that. I am saying that, for example, if you lose weight too quickly, gain it too quickly, have a change in skin colour or growths there, feel unusually tired, have bad pains you did not have before - all these forms of change - then you have to see a professional before too long and trying home remedies for a period of time may be delaying the treatment you need. We all know the times we can just try gargling or using otc medicines - but we should not continue using them if they make no reasonably quick improvement. We have all learned about our bodies by now and have some understanding of which are minor or major changes.

Two examples:

Very recent - This defeats my own argument as I should have sought professional help! A filling loosened and allowed an infection to get into my gum. I had toothache (not too serious) plus swollen gums (actual abscesses in fact) - these needed treatment as they can lead very rapidly to septicaemia and that can be fatal. Because of the problems of the virus pandemic, I thought it would be difficult to access a dentist and so treated myself with salt solution and hydrogen peroxide (NOT mixed, but at different times in the day) and corsydyl gel. After about 7 days the infection declined. But I could have died and should have sought treatment with antibiotics - this is a case where home treatment was not advisable IMO.

Long time ago: I had a urine infection following VERY bad food poisoning (I know the pub and the sausage that caused it!) - my urine was seriously cloudy and smelly. I left this continue for about 6 months, each week the smell and cloudiness declined a little. Eventually I saw my GP as the infection was declining but still present. I supplied a urine sample one afternoon. Next morning at 7 a.m. I was phoned by my GP and told to come down immediately as I had an infection with a very rare and dangerous form of E.coli, which needed specialised antibiotics. After treatment the infection cleared up within a week or so. But my GP told me I had risked my kidneys and they could one day suddenly stop functioning. Well, about 34 years later, I am still going. But was I wise to postpone my visit to the GP? No, not at all - it was very stupid, especially as I was more aware of the dangers of disease than most through my training and work experience!

So, I should have gone to the dentist but risked my life and I should have gone to my GP about my UTI but risked my life. Probably everyone reading this is more sensible (or less stupid - 'agrees' allowed!). We must seek help when changes are obvious and where risks exist (sepsis being a particularly nasty one) - I hope I have finally learned my own lesson.

 

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.

 

I've been coming to Dumaguete for 25 years. The choice of hospitals is constantly increasing. Unfortunately, the quality cannot keep up. I don't want to judge the quality of the doctors. It is unfair/difficult if you have no medical training. But the nurses have a good standard.

What I criticize is the infrastructure of the hospitals. The laboratories are poorly equipped. There is also a lack of specialists. I can prove this as follows…

1. Due to a chronic illness I regularly check 12 vitamins and micronutrient in relation to an undersupply.

In Dumaguete you can analyse 3-4 of them
In Manila 7-8
In Thailand 11
In Germany 10-11

2. Silliman Medical often lacks pathologists. So there were situations, where you had to wait 2 and more months for the results of a biopsy…

3. The doctors are overtaxed regarding the number of patients. Too long waiting times are the result and perhaps also lack of concentration. It is difficult to motivate additional (and qualified) doctors to work in Dumaguete.

4. Unfortunately the hospitals suffer from overconfidence. Silliman Medical, for example, had serious plans to become a centre for open heart surgery. Published in May 2018. Sorry but this ridiculous.

By the way, the doctors at Silliman Medical, who care for a patient during and after the operation, demand doctor’s fee in addition to the official invoice of the hospital. So far so good. But the amount of doctor’s fee is incredible. A Filipino friend of mine was in hospital. Craniocerebral trauma but without surgery. I have extrapolated the all doctor’s fee with reference to the number of ward rounds and the duration of the rounds. I even doubled the time needed for the rounds due to preparation and administration. These are the facts: Doctor’s fee via hospital P 3210. Doctor's fee directly P 14500. Effective time expenditure of the doctor multiplied by factor 2. Assumptions for the extrapolation: 9h work per day, 25 days per month.

Result: P 885'000 income per month. Speechless...

Conclusion: In case of accidents (no choice) and minor problems stay in Dumaguete. Otherwise travel to Cebu City or Manila or even better Thailand and Singapore. If you can afford it the costs should not matter. Health always comes first.

 

The Medical Center (Silliman University Medical Center) but locals refer to the hospital as MEDICAL CENTER whereas Silliman is used to refer to the school. So the Medical Center is good but oftentimes crowded. When you have good money to pay for a nice room, you will surely get some priority treatment there. However, some people go to Cebu for complicated cases as Cebu is more equipped there with the right facilities.

 

For anything surgical, I would go to Cebu. I wouldnt trust the doctors in Dumaguete. I would go to one here only for a consult, then to Cebu for a second opinion.

 

You have confirmed your total lack of medical knowledge by writing "I think there are specific antibiotics for bacterial infection". I think??? If you are not aware of antibiotics used for treatment of bacterial and fungal diseases then you should not class yourself as an authority on the subject, based solely on mother hood. And definitely should not be giving advice to others. You also wrote "it's VIRAL FEVER that has no medicine as it stays only for 3 days and goes away supposedly" What is this "VIRAL FEVER" that has no medicine and goes away in three days"? Source please.

I am afraid you are writing nonsense here.

 

you are right. girls go to doctors, boys don't, it is very stupid!

 

Some home remedies can be very useful but often it is best to be checked by a professional - this is especially so if aspects of the problem have been present a while. The 'home remedy' can delay the treatment which is really necessary.

But a great thought Glenda.