Calis Beach and Fethiye Turkey Discussion Forum
Information and Services in Turkey Section => Health & Healthcare => Topic started by: rosie on March 16, 2005, 17:59:15 PM
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Hi everyone,quick question regarding medical care,this year will be the first time that I will be renting out my aptartment to friends family and I am trying to put together a fact sheet with information for them ,with ref to illness while on holiday (god forbid !),do they go to the main A&E dept at the new hospital or do they call for a doctor ,
rosie
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I would suggest that any one be it family or friends that you insist that they get comprehensive holiday insurance. They would then be best using the private hospitals either Letoon hospital or Esnaf hospital as both have english speaking staff and tourists departments, both have amubulances if there is an emergency.!!!!
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We have recently used Letoon Hospital. The staff in the tourist office speak English and one member of staff is english. The doctor seen spoke fluently. The care recieved was excellent .
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Rosie your list is a great idea for guest, there is usually a very good page of essential contact numbers in the land of lights (unfortunately can not locate my copy at the moment) but keep trying there web site, in the meantime found this link
http://www.mugla-turizm.gov.tr/en/07800.asp
Also links for the local hospitals. Esnaf are quite good for tourist (but personally would not recommend for residents) just m make your guest aware of the excess on their policies.
http://www.esnafhastanesi.com/eng/index.asp
http://www.fethiye.net/letoonhospital/
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Hi Loz, we were interested in your comment re "would not recommend Esnaf hospital for residents" as we will be resident in Turkey later this year. We hope that you don't mind us asking (we don't need the details)but is that because of a bad experience there?
The Crinklies
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Hi "crinkles" Last summer my brother had a bad ear infection so took him off to the Esnaf and they couldn't have been more helpful, treatment injection pills and potions etc... he did not claim on his insurance his excess was £50 and as his final bill came to approx £57. they were great for this small treatment.
However, since then 3 people (cant name for obvious reasons) have complained bitterly, christmas a friend was taken seriously ill and they called the Esnaf and were asked immediately for £400 (even though they held the so called residents discount card) they waited and no show, they managed to go to another local clinic who treated with an intravenous drip and were not pestered for payment at this distressing time and to sort out later. one week went by and their bill was a quarter of the Esnaf. another is suffering from a kidney complaint, took out medical insurance in Fethiye last March and January had to go for extensive test, charged £400 (again) for xrays and they made an appointment for Antalya hospital. medical insurance did not cover this treatment in the first year so my friend has to pay himself (10millyar approx £5k), he went to Antalya hospital and was told the test and xrays were incorrect and treatment was inflaming the condidtion. Esnaf also confirmed test of stone in one kidney and the ohter blocked, Antalya confirmed stone but informed our friend that he was born with only one Kidney!! the professor phoned esnaf and explained what treament they were to give until a bed was free (Antalya) at no extra cost as they had made a mistake... this is ongoing, and he has now found that Esnaf were incorrect and this treatment could have been carried out locally in the Letoon hospital for 5Millyar approx £2.500.
I think this is enough and do not want to divulge the rest. So for minor ailments for quick A&E holiday ailments they are great...but for the more serious would think twice if I had that choice, but this is my personal experiences good and bad, but like everything there is always someone to extol the virtues I am sure that many more could add theirs.
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Thank you to everyone who replied to the topic on medical care,sorry it took so long to reply ! :)
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What is the recent opinions of hospital care please and registering when we arrive over in Turkey. Any information gratefully received.
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Teresa, our daughter recently had the misfortune to break her finger quite badly, she was taken to the ESNAF hospital where she received excellent care by two doctors who spoke good English. She was seen within 15 minutes, and had to return the following day when her dressing was changed, again she was seen very quickly.
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Thanks Val. I was leaning in favour of Esnaf but saw the post from Loz above and wondered whether that was a "glitch" that may have now been sorted out.
Teresa
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quote:
Originally posted by teresa321
What is the recent opinions of hospital care please and registering when we arrive over in Turkey. Any information gratefully received.
I unfortunatly had the misfortune of attending the Esnaf with a broken leg last year, the treatment given was incorrect and my consultant in England cannot attempt to fix it without 2 major ops and only a 30% chance of sucsess due to their incompetance.
Uprkr
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Its funny how people can have totally different experiences. 4 weeks ago my sister-in-law was taken seriously ill and she had the best care at the Esnaf that I have ever seen. She had a perforated appendix and within minutes of calling for an ambulance they arrived. By the time she got to the hospital two experts with stoumach complaints were waiting for her and she was quickly diagnosed. There was an english speaking interpreter there at all times and there was never an insurance issue with everything being organised without our involvement. They were attentive at all times. The rooms were great, blacony with view and satellite tv for the kids. Food was fine. Wish I could say the same for NHS.... When she got back to the UK last week her Dr said it was one of the 'best' operation scars he had ever seen.
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believe me when i say this i am very accident prone and have always just used the esnaf, e.g. 2 years ago had a bad fall crushed the disc, trapped nerves and massive hernia in my lower back after 5 days in the esnaf with total care as i could not walk and the diagonis was confirmed i was transfered to antalya for an operation. i came back home with 2 months bed rest and the esnaf clinic sending a nurse every day to change dressings and check on me. i gradually learned to walk again and am ok now. i would always recommend the esnaf, sue in the tourist section is great!
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Two years ago my son who was 6 at the time was quite ill and admitted to Esnaf. We stayed for 2 nights and 3 days, best medical care he has had anywhere. Even had a balcony with see view!
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Hi Uprkr,
My better half Tracey broke her leg in 2001 by a buffoon throwing her in a pool and missed. The Esnaf were brilliant and set the leg with Titanium. In Britain they were amazed at the science of the repair and how quickly Tracey was doing all the things she should be doing, E.g driving in six weeks. And back on a two week holiday inside ten weeks. Esnaf and there staff are brilliant and so say all of us.
Nirvana
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I have had god and bad experiences at Esnaf. My kids had ear infections over the summer and they were very good. I had a trapped nerve and in the fisrt instance everything was fine. I then had to return to have scan. Having got they in agony and in the boiling heat, the scan was not working.
However a couple renting next door to us,well their daughter was rushed in with appendicitis(excuse spelling). The doctors and nurses were fantastic. She was very impressed.
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Thanks for the update and all your experiences. Nothing for Letoon hospital I noticed and there is not much written about it - has anyone used it?
Teresa
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Our child was born in Esnaf and all pre and post natal care was from there and in all that time we have had fantastic medical care, he is now 22 months old and the very few times he has been ill we have had prompt and effective treatment, all injections and tests are up to date and the pre natal checks were once a month complete with scan, the treatment we recieve is far above the NHS and they even have english speaking staff which is more than i can say about some UK hospitals.
And the cost of all this treatment is much lower than my NI contributions were.
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i have had two friends who have used letoon recently both had bad experiances, the place when first opened looking sparkling and clean now looks pretty grotty to me, wheras the hesnaf at least looks hygenic my wife has been using it recently and is pleased with the care she has recieved i guess it depends a lot on what doctor is on duty at the time. personally other than an emergancy i would go to izmir for more serious medical conditions there are world class doctors and facilities there with fantastic hospitals at very resonable prices.
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Sounds like we will be looking to the Esnaf. In the end obviously we hope we never need their services but we also need somewhere to start in the event we do require medical attention. I think out of the whole moving over process this is the one issue that bothers us most of all.
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Esnaf was efficient when I went there with the stomach bug that really laid me low.
However they do like to take blood & give you transfusions. As my veins collapse & even the best phlebotomists have problems finding them this is something I'm not at all comfortable with. They gave up in disgust at a hospital here & recently the surgery phlebotomist who normally is wonderful had to have me back 3 times before she managed to take my blood.
Esnaf staff try but got me so wound up & really worried as it looked like they were trying to put air in my veins trying to clear the blockage that I ended up calling Carl just before 6am asking him to bring money & get me out of there. They pushed some drugs through so fast also that my arm felt like it was on fire inside. I don't know if that's normal, perhaps someone can answer but it certainly felt wrong & really hurt.
Maybe I'm just a baby - but I'd never felt that bad here.
Linda
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Unfortunately, i got rushed to Esnaf in September with horrendous back pains, i couldn't stand properly and i was in agony. The main doctor couldn't speak English at all and my boyfriend had to translate as i couldn't understand everything the doctor was telling me. They didn't know what the problem was and gave me 2 lots of antibiotics antispazmatic tablets and tablets for sickness. I can see why they threw all these tablets at me, as they tried to cover all possibilities of what the problem might be. They wanted me to stay overnight, but as they didn't know what the problem was, i didn't feel confident enough to stay!
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Hello Teresa. We have both had to use the Letoon hospital in the last year. My wife had a problem with a torn muscle as it turned out in her shoulder. She was seen straight away and given a scan and treatment immediately which alleviated the problem. Their service was excellent. I have recently had a problem twice with Viral Labrynthitus (Inner ear infection). The ambulance came to our house both times, I was treated immediately on arrival and I had to stay in for 5 days in total. I cannot thank the doctors and staff enough as it seemed to be a difficult problem to treat. The whole experience was really good apart from the illness which was really debilitating. I would reccommend them everytime due of course to the excellent treatment and care recieved. We have Private Medical Insurance and didn't have to pay anything to the cost of treatment. We have always paid for Medical cover here for just these sort of unexpected problems. I think that it has been money well spent. JohnR
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Hi All. On the subject of Health Insurance can we get it for 2 old un's 60 and 62 or is it pay as you go because we are too old to get any cover? What about regular drugs that we need do we just go to the Pharmacy and buy? Your invaluable help is needed for this one as we are due to move out in 2007
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Hello Quackers, You could get a quote when you arrive. We could take you to an Insurance broker that we use. It would be a good idea on the drugs to bring a list and some spares just in case. Nearly everything is available over the counter and a lot cheaper than the UK. See you in 07 what month? JohnR
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Have a look at Allianz worldwide care website.
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Tesekkur johnr and apollo. We are heading for February but it will probably be March. Can't wait, missing the sun ,the warmth from the sun and the people. My old bones love the weather in Turkey and the first Mr Quackers chills out as soon as he gets off the plane,thru customs and has his first efes in his hand. Heaven.
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For general medical care Fethiye Saglik Medical Centre opposite the Fire Station in Fethiye has a special scheme for residents and others living in the area. The doctor and dentist there both speak good English
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We have always received excellent treatment at the Esnaf. Recently my husband was rushed into the Esnaf suffering with pneumonia and pleurisy - the english staff were very good and concerned and we couldn't fault any of the staff. The only thing if I had to complain, is that the restaurant over the road is quite expensive and every thing is marked up in GBP. once again I cannot understand this when we live in Turkey and work in YTL!
Unfortunately, my husband had an infection which did not respond to anti-biotics and Dr Bulent decided that the only way forward was for him to go to University Hospital in Antalya. He organised everything and we were rushed up there in an ambulance.
Well, if any of you reading this have do go to University Hospital, Antalya, please be forewarned. Initially, when we arrived we were amazed that they do not speak English and if they do it is very reluctant and very little. You have to take everything from a cup to towels. The person with you is literally your gofer. They had me running round from floor to floor collecting x-rays from doctors, passing messages, finding the chemist to buy all his medication (they do not have a pharmacy in the hospital)plus things like kidney bowls, serviettes, paper sheets for the bed etc. The hospital is not as we expected and eventually I managed to get him a private room which I had to pay for before they would allow him to be moved from the general ward (which was cold and had no privacy whatsoever) this meant running up and down stairs to find the department I had to pay the money to. I had to wheel him down to the x-ray department and even push his bed with the help of a cleaner to the operating theatre (twice!)
On the plus side, the cleaniness is second to none and the medical staff (when we saw them) were as helpful as they could with the language barrier. There are two english translators there and they are very good. The food is absolutely awful! :( So take your own.
After his release, we have had to go back to Antalya twice as out-patient. The final time he had to have an x-ray then the doctor went to lunch so 2.5 hours later, we finally saw someone ready to discharge him. Then we had to pay the money. This took 2 hours to do as again I had to run from department to department. Nothing is every easy it seems.
Well I am pleased to have him back home to recover. Maybe I can get a bit of a rest as well now. :)
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I went to ESNAF as I needed to talk to a doctor about and bad bladder infection I agreed with the woman at the desk that I would pay 50ytl when I came back out, I went to see the doctor 20 minutes later I came back to settle the bill they said 100ytl!! I told them that we had agreed 50 and I want to know why it has doubled, they said because of the machine that was used (no machine was used it was straight forward) I told them I was only going to pay 50 they looked at each other on the sly and said fine and took my 50ytl. I asked for the receipt, that was already printed out before I had arrived at her desk to pay, she said ok after a couple of minutea and handed it over rather nervously. When I looked at the receipt it clearly stated the bill was for 50ytl not 100ytl. I couldnt believed they tried to rip me off at a hospital of all places!
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Hi what about medical insurance for those of us now permanently residing here ? Does anyone know of any local companies ? The cost of taking up insurance from UK is prohibitive. I am currently covered bu my comprehensive holiday insurance but when it runs out I cannot renew as I do not have a permanent UK address.
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Baris does medical insurance. He gave us quotes for 4 different levels of medical cover starting with basic cover and rising to one that covered all. I can email you his telephone number if you wish. He speaks excellent English.
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Fethiye Saglik Medical Centre (opposite Fire Station) in Fethiye offer a special scheme for residents. There is a doctor and a dentist both of which speak good English
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Well my son and i had very different experiences of University Hospital in Antalya,he was taken by ambulance and admitted via the casualty department.We always found a person who spoke English,as this is a University hospital there were always medical students who were ready to lend a hand and get some practical help with their spoken English.The staff were very kind and helpful and staff and patients always made sure we had enough food,and before anyone else was served too.The food we found was plentiful and varied,i mean what is NHS hospital food like?Yes,i had to take him and xrays etc from different departments for more tests,and there was a lack of pillows and only one shower between 15 people,BUT,this is Turkey,and i found the whole experience to be most humbling as we saw so many people much worse than ourselves,even though i have to say my son has at 23 years of age the most serious of all mental illnesses.Thank God there was a hospital to go to and trained staff to help him,after all it is our choice to be here.I hope your husband is recovering well.Calis*****
quote:
Originally posted by marmite
We have always received excellent treatment at the Esnaf. Recently my husband was rushed into the Esnaf suffering with pneumonia and pleurisy - the english staff were very good and concerned and we couldn't fault any of the staff. The only thing if I had to complain, is that the restaurant over the road is quite expensive and every thing is marked up in GBP. once again I cannot understand this when we live in Turkey and work in YTL!
Unfortunately, my husband had an infection which did not respond to anti-biotics and Dr Bulent decided that the only way forward was for him to go to University Hospital in Antalya. He organised everything and we were rushed up there in an ambulance.
Well, if any of you reading this have do go to University Hospital, Antalya, please be forewarned. Initially, when we arrived we were amazed that they do not speak English and if they do it is very reluctant and very little. You have to take everything from a cup to towels. The person with you is literally your gofer. They had me running round from floor to floor collecting x-rays from doctors, passing messages, finding the chemist to buy all his medication (they do not have a pharmacy in the hospital)plus things like kidney bowls, serviettes, paper sheets for the bed etc. The hospital is not as we expected and eventually I managed to get him a private room which I had to pay for before they would allow him to be moved from the general ward (which was cold and had no privacy whatsoever) this meant running up and down stairs to find the department I had to pay the money to. I had to wheel him down to the x-ray department and even push his bed with the help of a cleaner to the operating theatre (twice!)
On the plus side, the cleaniness is second to none and the medical staff (when we saw them) were as helpful as they could with the language barrier. There are two english translators there and they are very good. The food is absolutely awful! :( So take your own.
After his release, we have had to go back to Antalya twice as out-patient. The final time he had to have an x-ray then the doctor went to lunch so 2.5 hours later, we finally saw someone ready to discharge him. Then we had to pay the money. This took 2 hours to do as again I had to run from department to department. Nothing is every easy it seems.
Well I am pleased to have him back home to recover. Maybe I can get a bit of a rest as well now. :)
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It has to be said that medical care is a lottery, not just in fethiye but throughout turkey. You only have to watch the turkish news, barely a day goes by without some sort of medical scandal somewhere. We used Letoon in 2000 when my daughter was vomiting and had diorrhrea. They put her on a drip (she was 1 year old) and inserted suppositories. Kept her in for 6 days at a cost of £900. When we returned to the UK our GP was infuriated and said he would have sent us home with a prescription for re-hydration solution.
If you're well enough to fly - go home to get it sorted!
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Having medical insurance provided by Barris, he informed us in September, that the company have withdrawn Esnaf hospital from the providers, only Letoon is listed. I was told that this was due to many complaints from all users.
Having never called upon the services & hopefully will never, I can not comment further. 8)
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:)Think it depends on the duty doctor at the time, but I would never use the Esnaf again, they could not see the break on my arm after looking at the x-ray,i walked around in agony for 3and a half weeks, the doctor here told me before she x-rayed it that it was obviously broken, they charged me £110.00 for the x-ray and a wrist support, because I had 2, yes honestly 2 drinks,and told me to claim on my insurance.