Some points on hospital care in Taiwan: 1) Since helping a foreigner can garner you a lot of face (especially if you jabber away in unrecognisable English), I sometimes find myself being walked all over the hospital by very friendly, if somewhat bewildered, hospital volunteer staff. They really (usually) go out of their way to help you. Great job!
2) Being a foreigner doesn’t always open doors or shorten the queue for you… I’ve had some nasty experiences at Cathay, Hsinchu General, McKay (all in Hsinchu) and in Chiayi General where I was completely ignored by the front desk staff and the doctors were more concerned with grandstanding for the nurses and the other 11 people who crowded into the doctor’s room with me!
3) I also had to fight like a maniac in Ton Yuan hospital in Jhubei to retain a smidgen of respect! After suffering a heart attack I was admitted to ICU (an overcrowded demoralising place with neon lighting 24/7 and no privacy). I found myself surrounded by a gaggle of nurses (all 9 of them) who couldn’t wait to tear my clothes off so that they could compare my big bird to that of a Taiwanese one! ^&%#%^@# I slapped one nurse on the hands, ripped off the electrodes and shouted (rather dramatically) that I’d rather die at home than suffer their brand of professionalism… The supervisor and my wife had quite a charming discussion in English and Chinese, and I ended up in the “isolation room” with only one nurse allowed at a time. A few hours later I suffered another heart attack, but the doctor was stunning! I had angioplasty shortly thereafter, and a stent put in. Three days later I was sent to my private room with my own bathroom. My wife bought me peanutbutter sandwiches at 7/11 since the hospital food was way gross, and because she’s not a real cook. The post operative care was good, and the doc and I have a great relationship.
Cost: NT$25 000
4) At the moment I’m recovering from a back operation which I had done at Weigong Academic Hospital in Toufen (Hsinchu County?). Doctor Wang operated. I was blown out of my socks by the comprehensive pre- and post-operative care, information and options regarding the surgery - in English! I hate hospitals, but I would go back there in a jiffy.
Just watch out for the kleptomaniacal room cleaner with the hoarse cough. She used my private bathroom, and helped herself to my candy. She fled rather ungraciously when I pointed my finger at her and hollered “Shautou”, thief! Once over the shock, I had a good laugh. Cost: NT$21 000
I would rather get sick here than in ZAR, USA, CAN, or Mexico!
Can I ask whose stent? Was it Drug eluting or not? More than one?[/quote]
I don’t know whose; must say I’m not that into the stent wars.
I have one stent, and as far as I know it was drug eluting; I also used Plavix for almost two years afterward to help prevent thrombosis recurring (a blood clot getting stuck in one of the arteries did me in initially).
Can I ask whose stent? Was it Drug eluting or not? More than one?[/quote]
I don’t know whose; must say I’m not that into the stent wars.
I have one stent, and as far as I know it was drug eluting; I also used Plavix for almost two years afterward to help prevent thrombosis recurring (a blood clot getting stuck in one of the arteries did me in initially).
Hope that helps.[/quote]
It doesn’t really matter. If you made it out after 2yrs without restenosis you’re doing well and it done it’s job.
We have lived in Taipei for 2.5 years now - but I have not had much need to post as my questions have usually been answered somewhere if I look around here long enough. However, now I find myself with a issue that I have not directly seen addressed. My husband is schedule for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery in less than 2 weeks. He had the same surgery about 18 years ago, so we are both familiar with what is involved in the actual surgery and recovery. However, neither of us is quite sure what to expect at the hospital here in Taiwan. After a few consults and recommendations, my husband has chosen a doctor at Tri-Services General in Neihu.
I have heard that the nursing support is very hands off here - but really what are the families expected to provide during the hospital stay? I think that I saw a reference somewhere (but cannot seem to find it right now) about hiring a nurse. How common is that? And how would we go about doing that? We also have a 4 year old & 2 year old which adds a whole other dimension to having surgery in a foreign country - so I will not be able to stay at the hospital as much as he might need.
I have already warned him about the potential of poor pain management - but he does not seem too worried about that. He has one more appointment next Monday with the surgeon so I would also appreciate if anyone knows of any major questions that he should ask.
Also, he can get around fairly well in Mandarin but only with your basic day-to-day stuff as he is no where near fluent and I can manage to order tea (as long as they don’t ask me too many questions) so we also have that working against us.
If you need serious medical help in Taiwan, get your butt to a central hospital. I like Mackey in Taipei and in Danshui. This is your life and you don’t want it entrusted to somebody that can’t get a job in a good hospital.
Example: My SO and I took a motrcycle ride from Banciao to Houkou. We had a nice meal in a mountain resteraunt and headed back on rural highway 1. Some wanker hit us and sent us flying. The ambulance comes and we end up at Houkou hospital. While we were waiting on stretchers for treatment, a fight broke out in the emergency room. This fight included the throwing of chairs and serious fist fighting. Both of us struggled, bleeding off the stretchers and got outside. We paid for a taxi back to Taipei and got to Makey Hospital in Taipei. There, we had immdiate attention and care. Don’t fool around when your injured in a rural area. Get out fast and get to a main hospital.
As a local guy , I would say if you need medical help here in Taiwan, ask your local friend first, we dont really just go to any hospital , we find the right Dr. first , then we go to the hospital where he is located, I always do my homework on the internet to find the right Dr. , though for people who doesnt know any mandarin would have difficulty finding the right one, but if you happen to have an emergency , go to the major hospital in any city-the biggest one, otherwise ask your local friend first,if there is anything I can do to help ,let me know.
yes i hate doctors! they perscribe medications like candy…I’ve gone through a terrible experience because of that mentality…and if they can’t find anything wrong with you , they think you’re crazy and perscribe anti depressants…or if you have a not so common side effect from a drug…they dont believe you! they always assume that you are part of the majority and not the minority who can have bad side effects from a drug which are listed in the RX info !
I believe in holistic naturopathic alternatives before ever popping an antibiotic for something minor!! just my two cents i received from my health trip to hell and back![/quote]
Yup… They don’t seem to understand that allergies come in all forms. I get sick a few hours after eating most forms of seafood. Throwing up, weakness… ect… they say ‘oh you had bad fish’ and im like 3 times>? and from shared plates where no one else got sick? "oh then you’re not used to eating fish and you need to eat more’ … ok one little bit and my stomach is wretched hours later…
cinnamon… my allergy is also uncomfortable stomach…
meds… most penicillians cause me to get a fever.
doctor says you are not allergic… i say shut the fludge up… there are people whose allergy is that when they eat the certain food they have uncontrolled rage… sodont try and tell me its not allergy…
Hey. I haven’t undergone any surgery in Taiwan but recently I had undergone a breast augmentation in Toronto ( cosmedical.ca/procedures/bre … rgery/?a=2 ). The procedure was very effective.
I er injured myself and need to get something done on my elbow
I have insurance so cost isn’t an issue but this is a first for me so I’m not really sure what to do or where to go.
I was at nan men general in hsinchu since it’s close, but no idea how good they are. this time I didn’t have problems and the bone doc seemed alright but my first experience there was pretty average
oh sorry that’s a question
I saw the doctor and he told me the situation, and I had to talk with insurance and decide if I want to do it here or back home; I want to do it here but don’t know where to go.
My second year here, I had a literal “pain in the @ss” and the local GPs just prescribed a useless topical cream. Finally I went to a proper hospital (university hospitals are best). National ChengKung University Hospital to be precise. Easily got an appointment within half an hour on the department of Dermatology. Try that in almost any other country and you would never get a direct appointment so so so fast. Ten minutes of waiting and I could see the doctor (oh, and three inherently curious interns). Dropped my drawers for them all and the problem was correctly diagnosed immediately, even though the doctor mentioned that she had never seen it before. I went outside to wait and asked when the surgery could be arranged. The nurse said “等一下” which made me think of my uncle who waited two years for back surgery which disabled him and made him lose his job. They literally meant “等一下” and I was under the knife. I could tell you more about that story, but the main point was that they even had a “cosmetic surgeon” come and stitch me up to make sure there would be no scar. Beginning you end, less than two hours. BTW, nobody has ever even had a chance to see my scar (or lack thereof). Exceptional service and the total bill was around NTD 1,000. I’ve been to the ER before a couple of times (blood tests, saline injections, x-rays、等等) and never paid over NTD 1,500. We do pay monthly NHS payments, but often get excellent service.
On a side note, according to friends, finding a willing to do a circumcision can be tough
Sorry reply late. I was busy having a Heart attack
I had a couple of Stents put in. Fast treatment , within a couple of hours. Slightly strange thing about Taiwan Doctors, was asking me , whilst on the operating table, if i wanted the standard stents, free of charge , or the super efficient, safer, drug-coated versions. ( 100,000 ntd extra) Hmmmm let me think …
