Medical Services

[Will]

I read with great interest the thread on the new hospital in the future, but that is the future what about the present time, are there any clinics around Negril in case of an emergency

[Rob]

At the bottom of each of the main Negril.com pages (Home, Hotels, Dining, Entertainment, etc) is a listing of clinic with their phone numbers. Here is what is at the bottom of each of those pages.

Medical Information: Negril Health Centre (Govt): 957-4926 - Doctor's Medical Clinic (near HiLo): 957-3770 - Omega Medical Clinic (near Roundabout): 957 - 9307

Since this was originally posted, Dr Reddy has opened a clinic in the Whitehall Plaza (by the Texico station) - I am not sure of the number but will be adding it to the listing.

Each hotel has a listing as well. Should you have specific medical needs - please call one of the clinics before your trip and ask for advice on your condition.

[Will]

Thanks Rob, do we know what services they provide

[Rob]

Basic medical services, they are clinics not hospitals - and they will recommend further treatment should it be necessary. If you have any specific needs - please contact them prior to your trip.

[Will]

In case of an emergency would they be able to handle it, I guess is what I am asking or would you to drive 11/2 to nearest hospital

[Jaherring]

I would fly home.

[Will]

So no to emergency services in Negril...too bad

[Accompong]

In case of an emergency would they be able to handle it, I guess is what I am asking or would you to drive 11/2 to nearest hospital

I think what is being said here is that in the case of a "life threatening" emergency, you better get your body to a hospital as a doctor or clinic will probably not be able to help you much.

If your "emergency" is a cut foot, ripped off toenail, migraine headache, etc. then the clinic or doctor would work just fine.

If you have a pre-existing condition that might suddenly get worse and become a "life threatening" emergency then you might want to take the lack of hospital into account before booking a trip or have a backup plan for emergency transportation should it be needed.

Peace and Guidance

[Rob]

Will,

There are emergency medical services available in Negril, both public and private ambulances as well as some hotels having their own trained staff skilled on defibrillation units. Should you have a heart condition, please contact your hotel to see if they have one on premise to handle your situation. Not all have them, but several do.

Seastar Inn happens to be one of them, and there was a situation a few weeks back where the staff had to take care of a guest who passed out. They already had started to evaluate the need of the defib as the guest came to. Just a little too much "fun" in this case. Everything turned out fine.

Since you have not make it clear what "emergency" situations you are talking about, base it on what you would do in your own town. If a visit to clinic would suffice, then it will suffice in Negril as Accompong has stated. If you need advanced hospital emergency treatment, as you stated in your original post, there is not yet a hospital in Negril so you will need to be taken elsewhere.

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...

I have heard stories from different visitors who both praise or complain about the emergency treatment they received in Jamaica. The one simple thing I would like to point out is that those that are complaining are still around to complain about it...

[RockRobster]

If you have any medical condition that you fear cannot be addressed in JA, you should seriously re-think your decision to vacation in JA.

The medical care in Jamaica is vastly superior to that in Nevis. Its all relative.

Since I travel and do stupid things like ski, spearfish, climb things and generally get into fun trouble, I have medical evacuation insurance. This insurance will repatriate me to my hometown or anywhere else I choose in the US to have medical treatment. I use this company, it isn't the cheapest, but it is the gold standard. http://medjetassist.com/