Health Service Collapsing?

I will address my title to this post first, I have always found the Colombian Health Service to be brilliant, I would go as far as to say better than the UK Health Service, but that is my personal experience, and I know it doesnt apply across the country.

I know I have explained this before, but the Health Service here is on a different planet to the UK, you pay a Health Service Provider, in my case, SURA, and they subcontract out the Services, so although you attend one medical center to see your Doctor, if you need Specialist treatment, you can be sent all over the place to various Clinics, I was seeing a Dermatologist in Medellin, then he withdrew his services, then I was seeing a Dermatologist in Rionegro, my last appointment should have been last week for the results of my biopsies in May, we arrived, to find it had been cancelled, because the Clinic, was no longer providing the service for SURA, but no one thought to inform me.

I see Orthopaedic Specialists in Rionegro, but I saw an Orthopaedic Surgeon in Medellin for my Hip replacement, and so it goes on.

Since Mr Petro became President, the service has plummeted in quality, I can’t get appointments, and appointments are cancelled, it is becoming a farce, I believe I know why, although I might be wrong. Petro stated that it was his intention to totally disband the current Healthcare System, and replace it with a Government run service, which would provide a bandaid service to all, if people were terminally ill, they don’t need in-patient care, because they are going to die anyway, and those who can pay, will pay for those who can’t. Sorry, Mr Petro, but that doesn’t wash, if you are not going to provide me with a service, I am not going to pay, full stop, I will pay for treatment as required.

I believe that the current Health Care Providers are cutting back, and waiting to see what Petro’s final decision is on the matter, and who can blame them, but it doesn’t help us, when we need appointments.

The President, believes he can be Robin Hood, and rob the Rich to pay for the Poor, and the Poor believe him, which is why he got into power, there are now rumours that he intends to change the Colombian Constitution so that he can stay in power for more than the current four year maximum, he is following in the wake of Venezuela, and look where that got that Country, and why more than 2 million of it’s Citizens moved to Colombia, and others further afield. We can only hope that other Politicians can put a stop to this.

The Country is already starting to fall apart, albeit, I am sure Mr. Petro would disagree, the top ranking Officers in the Army and Police are resigning in droves, some need to, due to corruption in the Ranks, but there must be good ones amongst them, who can see where this is leading. The President has already started releasing his old chums from Prison, and placing others who were Terrorists like himself, in positions of power.

People are already talking about the increase in violence since he took Office, not a day goes by, when there aren’t multiple murders reported, as in many media cases, they refer to them as massacres, but I think that’s stretching it a bit. Driveby shootings are more common, three days ago someone took potshots at the Presidential cavalcade,two days ago we had one at the end of our road, a man was driving along with a large quantity of cash in his car, when two delinquents on a motorcycle tried to stop and rob him, so he shot them, killing one, injuring the other, who apparently ran up our road, I have checked our camera footage, and he didnt get as far as here, so must have taken to the fields.

Yes, it is frightening, but what can you do, I’m not rich, I can’t just up sticks, my only income is my pension, and the Colombian Government don’t recognise it as a pension, being from abroad, it is an earned income, and taxed here accordingly, I already feel the pinch, where income here may rise by 3 or 4%, my pension rises by 1% at the most, and prices here rise by 10% annually, I know by Colombian standards, I am still pretty comfortable, and I accept that, but as the years pass, that will change, as they catch up and overtake me. That could happen even sooner if Mr Petro has his way.

OK, enough of the moaning, I realise that I have trundled on, and not even started to cover home life, so, I am going to end now, and start a new Post, which you can catch up on now or later.