Earaches and A Different Kind of Healthcare System

May 23rd, 2016.  Gun Creek, Gorda Sound, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

Somehow I developed an ear infection (probably swimmer's ear) and, as much as I tried to ignore it, it became so bad that I needed to visit a clinic.  Something that I've never done before in the BVI, so I figured it would be interesting.  I was not wrong.

After a rough night of sleep (the infection had become very painful), Janet and I caught a mooring ball at Leverick Bay in the North Sound of Virgin Gorda.  After I called the clinic to be sure they were open, I hopped in the dinghy to make the short trip around the corner to Gun Creek.

Much to my surprise, Gun Creek turned out to be a fairly sizable town (as far as BVI standards go) and they have regular ferry services from Tortola and The Bitter End on Virgin Gorda.  Also, for future reference, they have a Customs and Immigration service that we could have used instead of going to Spanish Town.  One of the things I've learned while down here is to deal with as small a Customs and Immigration office as you can, both in the USVI and the BVI.  The lines are much shorter and the employees seem to be less stressed, and therefore more helpful.

The North Sound clinic was a short walk up the hill, and once I checked in, I settled in for a bit of a wait, since I was like the 4th person in line.  The clinics operate on a first-come, first-served basis and no appointment was needed, or in fact, it seemed like no appointments were even given.  The clientele that day was a couple of women who were in for pre-natal care, an old man who was blind, myself, and a couple of eastern european sailor types.

Antibiotics and pain meds, yum!

After a while, my name was called and I first saw a nurse practitioner who took a sketchy history, my blood pressure, and temperature.  She then had me wait for a few minutes and I then got to see the doctor, a Dr. Dwight Robertson.  Dr. Robertson examined me and asked me a few questions about my ears, confirmed that I had an ear infection, and wrote me a prescription for an antibiotic, Azithromycin (Zithromax brand in the US), and NSAID pain reliever, Voltaren (Diclofenac), and Chloramphenicol ear drops.  The prescriptions were filled at the clinic, and I was handed a small brown paper sack with the entire course of the medication as I was leaving.

Iris is tired of waiting for Steve to get back from the clinic.

After all that, I was sent back to the receptionist to pay the bill.  I was a bit apprehensive, given that I would not be covered by their National Health Insurance plan, and that I would have to pay the full price for the visit.  After consulting several price sheets, and discussing with the nurse practitioner, the receptionist handed me a bill, and apologized for how high it was.  I looked over the bill, and the total, for the entire clinic visit, including the filled prescriptions was $149.87!  I smiled at the receptionist, handed her my credit card, and was on my merry way.



May 25th:  Happy to report that the ear (as well as me, in general!) is on the mend.  A couple more days of antibiotics and I should be good as new!