Are the doctors in Placencia, Belize good?
Erin Ivy - Captain Jak's
There is only one doctor in Placencia, Doctor Alexis. He is a good doctor. If you are under the weather and you go to the clinic in Placencia, he will give you prescriptions or anti-biotics, depending on his diagnosis. There is a great pharmacy in town where you can buy your medicines. Doctor Alexis can do what most general practitioners do. He can stitch you up, if you have fallen and have a cut. He can also mend a broken arm or leg. If your...
There is only one doctor in Placencia, Doctor Alexis. He is a good doctor. If you are under the weather and you go to the clinic in Placencia, he will give you prescriptions or anti-biotics, depending on his diagnosis. There is a great pharmacy in town where you can buy your medicines. Doctor Alexis can do what most general practitioners do. He can stitch you up, if you have fallen and have a cut. He can also mend a broken arm or leg. If your case is anything more serious, then he will send you to a hospital either in Dangriga, Belmopan, or Belize City. The hospitals in these cities provide quality healthcare. If your case is something that the hospitals in Dangriga, Belmopan, or Belize City cannot handle, they will most likely send you to the hospital in Meredia, Mexico.
Our local Rotary Club is really working hard to get a medical center open here in Placencia. They have some donations and their goal is to open the medical center within the next couple of years, but since we are in Belize, I am expecting for it to open within the next five years.
On a personal level, I am not concerned at all that there are not a lot of hospitals or doctors here in Placencia because Doctor Alexis is a good doctor and if I had something that was out of his scope, then I could just easily go to the hospitals in Dangriga, Belmopan or Belize City. My husband is 68 years old and I am 50 years old. We are both in really good health; we have never had a problem here in Placencia. We have had typical accidents, like when I broke my foot, and when my husband had a gash and had to have stitches. We took Nexium and other medications available at the local pharmacy.
A lot of snowbirds or people who come here for a short time, bring their own prescriptions and fill them right here at the pharmacy in Placencia. If you are someone who has some serious medical issues, you're chronically ill, or if you need constant care, then Placencia is not the place for you.
Most of the people who retire here in Placencia have some sort of activity like biking, walking, or even fishing, which keeps them healthy and active.
Posted December 29, 2014
Veronique McKenzie - CTTBeliZe
We have one doctor in Placencia, Dr. Alexis Caballero. Our doctor is from Cuba. He fell in love with a lady from Placencia and married her. So now, after all the paperwork, he is our full time doctor.Dr. Caballero is one of the best. He even helped me with the mild cancer that I had. I love my doctor in Placencia. I can call him any time I want even if I am here in Belize City. He is very good to me. He came to Placencia two years after me and is still very...
We have one doctor in Placencia, Dr. Alexis Caballero. Our doctor is from Cuba. He fell in love with a lady from Placencia and married her. So now, after all the paperwork, he is our full time doctor.Dr. Caballero is one of the best. He even helped me with the mild cancer that I had. I love my doctor in Placencia. I can call him any time I want even if I am here in Belize City. He is very good to me. He came to Placencia two years after me and is still very involved with the village.
One doctor is enough for the entire village because Placencia is a small village. If you need a specialist, then you have to go to Belize City, Dangriga, or Independence. Doctor Alexis saved a lot of lives in our village.
Since Placencia is just a small village, you only go to the family doctor. If you want to see a gynecologist or any other specialist then you have to go to a bigger city.
If you experience a heart attack in Placencia, I’ll be honest; it will be hard because going to Belize City from Placencia is around 40 minutes by plane. If you drive, it’s about 3 hours. In those kinds of emergencies, we call a helicopter. Depending on the medical situation, they will take you to Dangriga, Belmopan, or Belize City.
To put this in perspective, the healthcare in Placencia is better than in some of the villages in France. It’s now 2015 and I can tell you that some small villages in France do not have any way of getting proper medical care. If you have a stroke in one of these villages, it will be difficult. I guess this is the risk of being in Placencia because there is no hospital because Placencia has such a small population.
(Pictured: View from balcony of Placencia condo)
Posted June 23, 2015