Medical Dual Pricing Name and Shame

Hi

A friends husband has just had to have an operation here in Goa for Appendicitis .The operation was a success but then came the shock.A Bill of over 80000 rupees. This was for the standard operation not laparoscopy .

Not much one might think BY ENGLISH PRICES but this is not England .

They had fallen into the trap of being sent for medical treatment in a TOURIST HOSPITAL where tourists needing medical treatment are charged sky high inflated prices.

Local people would expect to pay much less than 20000 rupees for the same operation carried out by equally qualified personal in equally suitable surroundings.

This Hospital in question is called VRUNDAVAN and is at Mapusa although it also runs the BRAGANZA Hospital in Calangute which is where the friends husband was direct to go by a ';Tourist GP';.Then being transfered.

Whether you are personally settling the account or an Insurance Company is responsible is inmaterial a special extra high rate is charged for the tourist.

Its medical tourism rip off.

Medical Dual Pricing Name and Shame

So if in need of urgent treatment what would we do to ensure this does not happen to us?

Medical Dual Pricing Name and Shame

Hi

Try using hospitals in non Tourist zones.

eg

Porvorim for the Northern belt.Ask friendly locals for hospital names.

Thanks...hope it wont be required tho...lol

Two years ago I was staying in Calangute when my ten year old son took ill. Two doctors came out to see him on two different occasions, the first giving him injections and tablets and charged me quite a bit. The second sent him to hospital.

The hospital was in Mapusa and was a childrens hospital. It was not a tourist hospital and i have to say it was very daunting. I was the only white face there and they spoke very little English. They took my son into a room and wouldn%26#39;t let me in. They brought him out with a drip in his arm. We were then taken to another room where we were left alone for hours. When a nurse came in to check the drip I asked her what was happening, she looked at me blankly and smiled and fetched another nurse. This nurse just said ';you here 24 hours'; and left the room. I was left all night,alone with my son, not knowing what was happening. I had no food or water with me as it didn%26#39;t occur to me to take any with me. The following morning the doctor came in and asked me what my son had eaten for breakfast - when I told him he%26#39;d had nothing as I had no food he started going mad, waving his arms in the air.

I was in tears and very frightened. The doctor said ';another 24 hours'; and i said no way and demanded they let us go home. Then came the bill. I had paid upfront for the drugs, the drips etc, so actually had no cash left. I told them my money was in Calangute so they said if I left my passport with them I could go back to Calangute and fetch the money then collect my son. Of course I didn%26#39;t have my passport with me, so now I was feeling like a prisoner. I was now distraught. I then remembered I%26#39;d got my visa card so I asked if there was an ATM nearby. Nobody seemed to understand me - then someone fetched a tuktuk driver from outside who could undertand. He took me to the ATM which was actually just down the road. Only then was I able to go and pay the bill, I cant remember the exact amount but it was about ￡70. I then grabbed my son and the tuktuk driver took us back to Calangute.

It was an horrendous experience and I can honestly say that if someone had offered us the option of a tourist hospital in Calangute where thye spoke English I would%26#39;ve gladly paid they extra.

Hi Bruahy, I agree its outrageous that tourists are charged an inflated rate but isn%26#39;t this what goes on in all the Goan Hotels as well. I wonder if the insurance companies are aware of these dual standards and if they are in a position to do something about banning certain doctors or hospitals. I certainly wouldnt want to go through what mq23 went through!

The only medical experience I have had was when my OH paid for an MRI scan, the service was excellent and the cost unbelievably cheap (approx ￡50 including the report) the report was so good he had an operation 6 weeks after returning to the UK.

Shouldn%26#39;t the tour operators give advice? Apart from making tourists aware of this I don%26#39;t suppose there is a lot we can do other that be aware and make others aware.

Thanks for bringing it to the forums attention

I know you have used their medical services and I understand you were happy with your treatment

I wish I was in Goa now instead of grey old Wales only 10 months to go !!

take care

Lyn

Hi

I agree that mg23 unfortunately had a bad experiance which was made worse by not having had explained how the admittance to hospital system works here.

The hospital where I had my eye operation although maybe not quite so modern as English ones was clean,the clerical staff that my wife spoke to and the nurses all spoke Very good English and all steps of the proceedure were explained to me very clearly.

This hospital also catered for Deliveries and Pediatrics and I believe has a 24 hr Dr available.

Tour company reps are very often not as well informed as they would have you believe.They can quote everything that is tourist biased with great big signs ouside it and once accepted they become THE places,their responsibilities then being complete .However ask a Goan Rep if you have one,or the hotel receptionist which Hospitals they use and different names will appear.BUT it is the hospitals that the middle/Upper class Goans use that would be the more acceptable ones.

2 years ago my husband had to spend 10 days in Bosio hospital in Candolim.Although the facilities were basic the hospital was very clean. He was treated extremely well and the bill for his single room, drugs and food was no more than ￡30.All the staff (alot of them are nuns) were really kind to me as well and explained everything in very good english.

I%26#39;m sorry Bruahy but I don%26#39;t agree with you at all. As other posters have mentioned basic Indian healthcare would be viewed as extremely daunting to most tourists.

Personally if myself or my family get sick while on holiday I want the best medical attention money can buy and anyway as you imply yourself 90% of cases in Goa would be covered by insurance companies. I want western standards of care and western sanitary conditions. I do not want an Ayurverdic enema or suchlike.

In India tourists pay more for everything (it costs Indians 50 rupees to get into the Taj Mahal and tourists 750 rupees) . Why sould healthcare be any different?

It must be good for India in general that there are a lot of well paid jobs tending tourists as this generates money for the local economy and keeps the doctors and nurses in India rather than in London or Dubai. Also your so called ';rip off hospitals'; do not only treat tourists.They also treat wealthy Indians.

And at the end of the day ￡1000 is not too bad for an acute appendectomy. How much do you think an Indian tourist would be charged in the UK?

What makes you think the jobs are well paid?

cmf99 you%26#39;ll soon be saying its ok if everything costs the same as it would in Europe as long as the quality is the same....taking away the whole magic experience good and bad that makes Goa the magical place it is. I%26#39;m 100% with Bruahy on this

cheers

Lyn x

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