Anyone who’s been to Boracay knows that their medical facilities may not be the most updated. The nearest hospital is not even on the island itself but in Kalibo. Despite these things being common knowledge, there is no traction to improve the situation.
(Related:Â This is a must-read for anyone planning to visit the newly reopened Boracay)
This is what led to Barbi Chan’s “72 hours of pure hell”. In a viral post going around Facebook, she writes about how they weren’t able to get the proper medical attention her daughter needed. In the middle of a family vacation in Boracay, her daughter contracted a bad fever which included the symptoms of vomiting. After more than 12 hours with no change in her daughter’s condition, they went to a small medical clinic. According to her hotel, it was the only medical clinic in all of Boracay.
At the clinic, Barbi’s daughter began suffering from convulsions. The medical professionals reportedly did not know what to do and suggested they escalate the treatment to Kalibo’s hospital in the morning. According to Barbi, “in the meantime that she was convulsing and fever almost 40 degrees all we did was give her a sponge bath to lower down her fever. Paracetamol and all. Nothing else as they do not have anything more.”
In the end, the couple had their daughter airlifted to Manila the following day instead. She assures us in the post that her daughter “is stable now and a concussion was ruled out.” However, she also asks: “Boracay, I do not understand why you do not have a proper medical facility? According to the clinic, even patients from the small provincial hospital go to them as they have more supplies and manpower. So if someone has a heart attack, goodbye!”
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