This was from a few of years ago (2019) by a Venezuelan guy that had to take his daughters (along with his wife, also Venezuelan) to the
Marcelino Velez Regional Hospital. He had to go there because at that time he had no health insurance, couldn't afford a private clinic and his daughters had a medical emergency. That is also the closest regional hospital to his house which is in the kilometros of the Duarte Highway (very rare to see expats there.) This is a public hospital already with the upgrades done by the government and eventually will incorporate all public hospitals in the country. He was impressed with what he saw and experienced there, given what he was told Dominican public hospitals were like. The hospital he went to is in the barrio of Herrera.
While the entire thing is in Spanish, the main points are:
- The instalations in the hospital are like those of any private clinic.
- They did waited approximately 2 hours.
- The waiting area of emergency had no a/c, but once in the emergency area it did.
- Impressed that all tests, treatments and medicine was completely free despite having no health insurance. Well, it wasn't really free, just the Dominican government picked up part of the tab and in the end he had to pay RD$350 (about US$6-7 in today's exchange rate). He also says that if he had insurance it woukd had been entirely free.
- He makes reference to the hearsay as based on his experience with a Dominican public hospital, it contradicted what prior to going there he was told.
- The medicine they were prescribed he got the in PROMESE/CAL, which the basically the government's pharmacy (aka, for the poor) ususlly on the premises of the public hospitals nationwide and there was no shortage. Within 4 days of prescription treatment his daughters were cured.
He also mention he once went to the
Moscoso Puello Hospital to treat a heart problem, high blood pressure and a nasal problem he was suffering from.
He mention his wife gave birth of the daughters at the
Maternidad La Altagracia (from time to time it makes it to the newspapers due to the high number of pregnant Haitians that give birth there, that's actuslly the largest maternity in the country) and he only has nice things to say, no complaints.
He did mention that one time he went to the
Salvador Gautier Hospital and had an issue with the X-ray machines there and the waiting area was very outdated. But that's one of the public hospitals that hasn't been upgraded yet.
He begins to show seversl areas inside the hospital where he was allowed to take video, starting in the emergency area in the bed they were assigned. His impressions started there as he wasn't expecting to see those things in a Dominican public hospital. (2:20)
The following one is of another emergency visit to a
Dominican public hospital in 2020 and of an experience with the
911 system as at first sn ambulance was sent and given treatment on the spot. Again, he gives an overall good impression based on his experience. He does mention that he
met a Venezuelan doctor that told him that what impressed him of the Dominican public hospitals compared to Venezuela's is that when he asked for one seringe, he would be given an entire box of new unused seringes; when he asked for one other medical supply, he would always be given an entire box of new ones. Never experienced a shortage of anything while he has been a doctor in a Dominican public hospital.
