In Reply to: Doctors posted by JAYZ on Tuesday, 16. September 2008 at 17:07 Bali Time:
in mind that virtually no doctors in Bali have any overseas post graduate experience and their lecturers and professors haven't either. Not good by any measure.
Any western staff in the Western owned medical centers are there only in an advisory role. Between the good Wahine and myself we have 2 mis diagnoses each, 2 each from both of the 2 biggies, plus a whopper from the Cardiac specialist at a private Indonesian Hospital.
I also had to have a hernia repair last year and my insurance company wanted me to have it in Bali. I refused as the guy who was going to be weilding the knife had no experience beyond the local medical school so flew back to Godzone to argue it out.
In the event I had the procedure done in a private hospital in Christchurch by a guy with post graduate degrees from England and Australia and specialised in hernias.
The most interesting thing was that the procedure, including a new return airfare to Bali paid for by my insurers, cost less than the quote from Bali. So they learned something too.
In 2000 I had a heart problem and Bali's best said I was fine to stay
on until my planned return some 8 months later.
Just to be sure to be sure, I mailed the results to Christchurch hospital who suggested I should return immediately. I rang my insurers who took over and was flown home with an accompanying Aussie doctor a few days later.
4 days later I had a triple bypass and was later told by the surgeon that I would not possibly have survived more than a month or 2 had I stayed in Bali as per the specialists advice.
I don't post this to scare anyone just to make people aware that things are not necessarily what they seem and that luxurious surroundings and a good bedside manner are no substitute for a solid degree from a western university and post graduate work elsewhere.
For minor things like Bali belly, heatstroke etc any of the local centres can cope with for a fraction of the price of the biggies.
Anything serious and the correct procedure is to get stabilised and get home.