Sorry I missed this post, but to correct some of the misinformation being posted in this thread - here is a part of what I posted back in July of 2013:Originally Posted by suzengrace
"The nearest hospitals are in Sav about a 25 minute drive away, not an hour and a half. Royal Medical probably has the best facilities and are privately run. But they do cost more than the government run public hospital in Sav. The public hospital also has emergency room services that have treated many a friend of mine when they were in a critical accident.
Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay is the one that is 1 and half hours away. They have the best facilities on the western end of the island.
Recently a person fell off the cliffs between Rockhouse and 3 Dives and ended up near the bottom by the sea. The ambulance was there in minutes and the doctor on call originally suggested taking them immediately to Sav for emergency treatment since it was the closest facility. But since they were conscious when the emergency workers got down to them, after speaking directly to the person by cellphone, the doctor asked them a series of questions and determined that they were in good enough condition to head to the Cornwall Hospital in MoBay.
After two days of MRI's and cat-scans and finding no serious damage, they were bandaged up and sent on a plane back home. They were extremely lucky as they had fallen some 25 feet. But the professionalism of the emergency crew and doctor on call made all the difference for them. I witnessed the entire series of events and the Negril rumor mill was in such fast action that by the time I walked back to 3 Dives (about a minute away), it had already been announced that the person had died. So much for the rumor mill... "
So this is coming from a first hand, eyewitnessed perspective, no guessing or speculation required. I know the ambulance has fully trained EMTs and is fully stocked with necessary emergency equipment. I was behind the ambulance and had full view of their equipment as the EMT by the ambulance spoke directly to the doctor on call. They will take you to the hospital that the emergency doctor on call that the EMTs are talking with decide is the best choice since time is a critical factor.
Sav hospital does have an emergency room and is equipped to handle life threatening emergencies. This too I have witnessed first hand when friend was in a motorcycle accident. The services are as one would expect in nearly any rural hospital anywhere. Sav is the capital of Westmoreland but it is far from what anyone would call a "big city" so you cannot expect big city hospital type services.
Also, being a developing country, Jamaica is constantly improving the state of its medical care. The recent donations in December by the NIH Project being the latest in those improvements.
To spread rumor and speculation as well as guesses as fact is a disservice....
