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Robin Galvan -
2 years ago
Not really sure where to start...If you are being sent to this hospital because you are coming from the states to have a type of surgery, there are some things that you should know. This facility is the equivalent to an outpatient clinic in the states, a very understaffed and dilapidated one at that. You should not expect to have trained nursing staff working with you. These people are the equivalent of an LVN or maybe even Nurse's Aides here in the US. They are do not check your vitals regularly. They only seemed to be trained to take temperatures and maybe take your blood pressure. They do not know how to start IVs. They are also very young and unprofessional. The eat at the nurses desk, listen to music on their phones all night long (I was there 2 nights and I heard their music and singing all night long), they talk and laugh very loudly and even disappear for long periods of time.
Don't expect anyone to speak English! While I was there, they had to get the janitor several times to translate for them. When she was gone my daughter and I had to use Google Translate. My doctor and his staff spoke perfect English and were super professional. It was the facility staff that was a joke. Don't come here by yourself, you need to bring someone with you because these people are not here to help the patients.
The facility itself is in poor condition. The restrooms smell like a sewer. There was black mold in the shower. The 20 plus year old hospital bed that was in my room had a burned out motor so it did not work. Which after abdominal surgery made it quite a challenge to get up. The sheets were for another sized bed, so bring your own if you would like to have clean sheets that will stay on the bed. The equipment (IV stands, rolling tables, gurneys etc. were from the 1960's! It was just old, old, old. If I had not just had surgery, it would have been a very interesting place to visit, like a museum. Another interesting tidbit, no AC in the bathroom or the hallways, just the actual hospital room. I kept thinking "I am going to die here, if something goes wrong with my surgery!"
Just be aware of the type of facility that you are agreeing to go to for surgery. I am not allowed to mention the company that sent me to this facility because of the contract that I signed with them, so I wont. But if you are coming from the US to have surgery in Tijuana because of financial reasons, just know that you are going to get what you pay for! As I said, the actual medical team was awesome! At one point one of the doctors who assisted in my follow up care came in to check on me. She tried to make the bed help me to sit up and when it didn't work, she seemed embarrassed and apologized. I am sure that there are some top notch medical facilities in Mexico and Tijuana, but this is NOT one of them.
