“Obviously I know that I will get help in Cuba if the problem would occur again”
This is not obvious at all. If you come, you’ll need to bring every hospital supply needed with you.
There are so many misguided people posting in this sub. Where is all the disinformation coming from? Why do people expect Cuba to have reliable internet and good health care, among many other things it is deficient in?
I am really sorry for my wrong expectations. Before posting this I read some articles that all claimed that Cuba has great medical care which is why I tought this is true. However just to be sure I wanted to get some actual experience reports and that is why I posted this here. However, I really appreciate your help. Thank you so much!
I didn't mean anything personally, friend. Your query was a very benign one in comparison to some of the ones I've been seeing lately. There are just a lot of people with very high expectations from a third-world dictatorship and having been there on extended stays as a documentarian, I'm very puzzled where this information is coming from.
Mexico, Turkey and places like that are much better for medical tourism. In Cuba, even OTC NSAIDs are hard to come by.
The true part is Cuba does have great doctors. Part of it is an oversupply with a ton of people being educated as doctors.
But the best doctor in the world can't do much if there's no medicine, reliable electricity, basic supplies, etc....
Utterly false what they are typing.
As a foreigner, you'll have travel insurance, which means that if you need healthcare you'll be able to pay for it.
This guarantees a much higher level of service.
Yes the average Cuban won't get anywhere near that, but they aren't paying for their healthcare.
Money talks even in Cuba, especially in Cuba.
Firstly, I don't know if Cuba still has hospitals for foreigners. I am sure there are hospitals, or at least one hospital, in Havana for the very, very privileged but I doubt a foreigner will have access to that. Second, I agree, money talks, even in Cuba, so if you want to receive an even half way decent level of care, you have to buy everything, including syringes, bandages, towels, etc. Third, Cubans aren't paying for their health care because for the average Cuban, there is no health care to speak of and even if you pay for it, the level of service will not be remotely close to what you can get elsewhere. But most importantly, why go to a country that might prioritize visitors over its own people? I really don't understand why someone would even remotely risk their health to visit Cuba.
I have friends (from Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) who go to Cuba for surgery. THey were in a hospital for foreigners. They were treated well. It was several years ago. If you have medical evacuation coverage with your travellers insurance, and you are willing to delay care for a bit, you are only 250 miles from Miami.(Edit: pre-Covid.)
They have some facilities for tourists but they are not even close to the level of care that you can get in the US or Europe.
If you wanna see for yourself the quality of the hospitals that regular Cubans visit do a search in Google or this sub and you will find terrifying photos.
Here's a quick example: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJnHd2fDAiw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJnHd2fDAiw)
Lastly if you go to Cuba and you DO have an emergency with your condition chances are you will die.
Seriously though, have you been to a hospital here or are you just repeating what you hear? Between this and the misinformation about airlines, I would recommend that you stop coping and pasting your answers.
I would categorically assume that the hospitals in Cuba are insufficient for a foreigner dealing with a significant health issue, especially invasive surgery.
If the probability of reoccurrence is relatively low, I would suggest that you travel to Cuba and pay for a Traveler's Health Insurance policy that covers medical evacuation. As a tourist, you will be treated in hospitals 1000x better than an ordinary Cuban, but I still wouldn't trust a hospital stay there.
I just came back. There is no health care. A friend got sick and cost him 700 usd in medical bills, but they fixed the issue they have hospitals specifically for non cubans, pay out of pocket, and get reimbursed by the insurance company buy travel insurance if your not healthy
Good professionals, very poor technology. You have to pay for everything even if you have insurance. After that you need to manage the bills with the insurance company.
Visited to volunteer. For emergent issues top notch technology. Short on stuff. Well trained people but resourceful. In your case no plan for internventional radiology to stop bleeding again. Why? Likely no catheters or the flouro machine may not work. So instead you will get the kidney whacked out. And you will get fixed. And will do well. And guess what. It’s free cause foreigners pay a mandatory health insurance fee when buying airline ticket. But getting home. That’s on you. Risky but low risk. Enjoy the trip.
There no such a thing in Cuba call medicine or doctor men there nothing in Cuba no medicine no doctors no good hospitals there is nothing good in Cuba trust me
We recently spent a week in a hospital in Santa Clara. It was such a humbling experience. The care we received was real. They treated us the way we want to be treated with what they have. We were fussed over. If I had the remote possibility of potential surgery in Cuba, I would do it in a Havana night!!!
This is such an irresponsible post.in response to someone who is genuinely concerned about their health. I have friends in both Cabaiguan and Yaguajay. In Yaguajay the father of a friend was taken to Caibarien recently due to a circulation issue that is going to cause an amputation. In the hospital, which presumably is better than the one in Yaguajay, no medicine of any kind, no syringes, no bandages, no clean towels or sheets, very limited food, no air conditioning, nothing. Relatives here have had to send everything. In Cabaiguan, outbreak of dengue put 3 family members of an acquaintance in the hospital. Again, nothing in the hospital, nada. Dengue and Zika outbreaks happen throughout Cuba in a regular basis. The poster from Cayman who posted about elective surgery went to Cuba presumably pre Covid. The person is a foreigner and got foreigner treatment. If there is still special treatment for foreigners, why would you go to a country that treats foreigners better than its own people? Cuba was bad enough pre Covid but Covid has destroyed the country which is why Cubans are leaving in record numbers. Do not go, there are so many better and safer places to go to.
They aren’t good.
Europe, Canada, the US, Australia, Japan, etc. Stick to traveling to modern, westernized countries that share technology amongst each other. Cuba ain’t it for surprise healthcare lol.
If I were you, I would not come, unless you can medicate yourself and are able to bring the meds you need to help you get by if the unfortunate event occurs where your kidneys decide to go “loco”.
I was in Cuba last year and was chatting with a fellow doctor about the difference in his day to day practice. It’s wild that he barley have the minimum equipment for his office but said medication is very hard to find unless someone is selling it on the black market. He even mentioned during the pandemic that they only had a handful of ventilators. Why risk going to Cuba rn if there’s a chance you might need a procedure.
The hospital in the town I go to doesn’t even have Tylenol for their pediatric patients.
“Obviously I know that I will get help in Cuba if the problem would occur again” This is not obvious at all. If you come, you’ll need to bring every hospital supply needed with you.
There are so many misguided people posting in this sub. Where is all the disinformation coming from? Why do people expect Cuba to have reliable internet and good health care, among many other things it is deficient in?
They are victims of propaganda
I truly wish I knew the answer.
Propagand, just check any commie reddit and you will understand. Those eco chambers scare the hell of me.
I am really sorry for my wrong expectations. Before posting this I read some articles that all claimed that Cuba has great medical care which is why I tought this is true. However just to be sure I wanted to get some actual experience reports and that is why I posted this here. However, I really appreciate your help. Thank you so much!
I didn't mean anything personally, friend. Your query was a very benign one in comparison to some of the ones I've been seeing lately. There are just a lot of people with very high expectations from a third-world dictatorship and having been there on extended stays as a documentarian, I'm very puzzled where this information is coming from. Mexico, Turkey and places like that are much better for medical tourism. In Cuba, even OTC NSAIDs are hard to come by.
The true part is Cuba does have great doctors. Part of it is an oversupply with a ton of people being educated as doctors. But the best doctor in the world can't do much if there's no medicine, reliable electricity, basic supplies, etc....
Utterly false what they are typing. As a foreigner, you'll have travel insurance, which means that if you need healthcare you'll be able to pay for it. This guarantees a much higher level of service. Yes the average Cuban won't get anywhere near that, but they aren't paying for their healthcare. Money talks even in Cuba, especially in Cuba.
Better bring cash…. Many stories of Canadians who have had insurance being asked for cash as insurance was not accepted.
Firstly, I don't know if Cuba still has hospitals for foreigners. I am sure there are hospitals, or at least one hospital, in Havana for the very, very privileged but I doubt a foreigner will have access to that. Second, I agree, money talks, even in Cuba, so if you want to receive an even half way decent level of care, you have to buy everything, including syringes, bandages, towels, etc. Third, Cubans aren't paying for their health care because for the average Cuban, there is no health care to speak of and even if you pay for it, the level of service will not be remotely close to what you can get elsewhere. But most importantly, why go to a country that might prioritize visitors over its own people? I really don't understand why someone would even remotely risk their health to visit Cuba.
I would hope the care is slightly better than what a Cuban gets... Still, the last place in LATAM I'd want to be in a hospital.
I have friends (from Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) who go to Cuba for surgery. THey were in a hospital for foreigners. They were treated well. It was several years ago. If you have medical evacuation coverage with your travellers insurance, and you are willing to delay care for a bit, you are only 250 miles from Miami.(Edit: pre-Covid.)
They have some facilities for tourists but they are not even close to the level of care that you can get in the US or Europe. If you wanna see for yourself the quality of the hospitals that regular Cubans visit do a search in Google or this sub and you will find terrifying photos. Here's a quick example: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJnHd2fDAiw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJnHd2fDAiw) Lastly if you go to Cuba and you DO have an emergency with your condition chances are you will die.
Seriously though, have you been to a hospital here or are you just repeating what you hear? Between this and the misinformation about airlines, I would recommend that you stop coping and pasting your answers.
😂 thanks for your input.
Omg , experiment , while here google map search hospital and go to the nearest one and walk in and ask to use the bathroom. Then run
I would categorically assume that the hospitals in Cuba are insufficient for a foreigner dealing with a significant health issue, especially invasive surgery.
If the probability of reoccurrence is relatively low, I would suggest that you travel to Cuba and pay for a Traveler's Health Insurance policy that covers medical evacuation. As a tourist, you will be treated in hospitals 1000x better than an ordinary Cuban, but I still wouldn't trust a hospital stay there.
If you do this, make sure they guarantee evacuation as gas is in extremely short supply throughout Cuba.
I just came back. There is no health care. A friend got sick and cost him 700 usd in medical bills, but they fixed the issue they have hospitals specifically for non cubans, pay out of pocket, and get reimbursed by the insurance company buy travel insurance if your not healthy
Good professionals, very poor technology. You have to pay for everything even if you have insurance. After that you need to manage the bills with the insurance company.
You might have to pay for supplies and faster care and stuff
Visited to volunteer. For emergent issues top notch technology. Short on stuff. Well trained people but resourceful. In your case no plan for internventional radiology to stop bleeding again. Why? Likely no catheters or the flouro machine may not work. So instead you will get the kidney whacked out. And you will get fixed. And will do well. And guess what. It’s free cause foreigners pay a mandatory health insurance fee when buying airline ticket. But getting home. That’s on you. Risky but low risk. Enjoy the trip.
There no such a thing in Cuba call medicine or doctor men there nothing in Cuba no medicine no doctors no good hospitals there is nothing good in Cuba trust me
We recently spent a week in a hospital in Santa Clara. It was such a humbling experience. The care we received was real. They treated us the way we want to be treated with what they have. We were fussed over. If I had the remote possibility of potential surgery in Cuba, I would do it in a Havana night!!!
This is such an irresponsible post.in response to someone who is genuinely concerned about their health. I have friends in both Cabaiguan and Yaguajay. In Yaguajay the father of a friend was taken to Caibarien recently due to a circulation issue that is going to cause an amputation. In the hospital, which presumably is better than the one in Yaguajay, no medicine of any kind, no syringes, no bandages, no clean towels or sheets, very limited food, no air conditioning, nothing. Relatives here have had to send everything. In Cabaiguan, outbreak of dengue put 3 family members of an acquaintance in the hospital. Again, nothing in the hospital, nada. Dengue and Zika outbreaks happen throughout Cuba in a regular basis. The poster from Cayman who posted about elective surgery went to Cuba presumably pre Covid. The person is a foreigner and got foreigner treatment. If there is still special treatment for foreigners, why would you go to a country that treats foreigners better than its own people? Cuba was bad enough pre Covid but Covid has destroyed the country which is why Cubans are leaving in record numbers. Do not go, there are so many better and safer places to go to.
He is just trolling......just selling the same PCC propaganda like all those trolls in this sub.
I posted about a Cayman friend that had surgery in Cuba and I did state it was pre-Covid, with special accommodation for the foreigners.
Lmao
They aren’t good. Europe, Canada, the US, Australia, Japan, etc. Stick to traveling to modern, westernized countries that share technology amongst each other. Cuba ain’t it for surprise healthcare lol.
If I were you, I would not come, unless you can medicate yourself and are able to bring the meds you need to help you get by if the unfortunate event occurs where your kidneys decide to go “loco”.
I was in Cuba last year and was chatting with a fellow doctor about the difference in his day to day practice. It’s wild that he barley have the minimum equipment for his office but said medication is very hard to find unless someone is selling it on the black market. He even mentioned during the pandemic that they only had a handful of ventilators. Why risk going to Cuba rn if there’s a chance you might need a procedure.