How good are the medical centers, hospitals and health clinics in Cayo, Belize, including San Ignacio and Belmopan, and how close are they?

We have two major hospitals in San Ignacio, Belize. We have the public hospital, which is a government run institution and then we have the private hospital, which is a Seventh Day Adventist hospital, La Loma Luz. They are pretty good. They can deal with snakebites, childbirth, etc. They can deal with most normal things.

 

If you have appendicitis or a broken leg, that can be dealt with at the hospitals in San Ignacio but in some cases they will give you the...

We have two major hospitals in San Ignacio, Belize. We have the public hospital, which is a government run institution and then we have the private hospital, which is a Seventh Day Adventist hospital, La Loma Luz. They are pretty good. They can deal with snakebites, childbirth, etc. They can deal with most normal things.

 

If you have appendicitis or a broken leg, that can be dealt with at the hospitals in San Ignacio but in some cases they will give you the option to go to Belize City.  For more serious emergencies, people get taken by ambulance to Belize City, which is about an hour and half to two hours by car. There is another regional hospital in Belmopan (the capital of Belize, which is also located in the Cayo District), called the Western Regional Hospital.  It is well equipped with a full operating theater so the majority cases are handled in Belmopan and it’s only the really serious ones that end up in Belize City. Belmopan is about 20 miles away from San Ignacio.

 

There are also lots of health clinics and medical centers in San Ignacio. It’s only for serious medical conditions such as a heart attack or stroke that people get taken to Belize City.  

 

(Pictured: holding a newborn at Western Regional Hospital, Bellmopan, Cayo District, Belize.)

We have a clinic in San Ignacio and we have the Western Regional Hospital, which is the main hospital in the Cayo District and which is located in Belmopan. The clinic in San Ignacio is good for minor injuries or medical care.

 

However, if you need a surgery or if you have something serious or if you need to deliver a baby, you would be taken to the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan, which is around 30 minutes away from San Ignacio by car. For CAT scans...

We have a clinic in San Ignacio and we have the Western Regional Hospital, which is the main hospital in the Cayo District and which is located in Belmopan. The clinic in San Ignacio is good for minor injuries or medical care.

 

However, if you need a surgery or if you have something serious or if you need to deliver a baby, you would be taken to the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan, which is around 30 minutes away from San Ignacio by car. For CAT scans and similar procedures, they might take you to Belize City where better equipped hospitals like the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital are located. Belize City is about an hour and half away from San Ignacio by car.

 

More and more Belizean physicians are going abroad to study and they come back here to Belize to help their own people. Recently, the government has been acquiring better hospital equipment as well.

 

(Western Regional Hospital, New Born Project, Belmopan, Belize, pictured.)

​Cayo is a big district. Its biggest settlements are San Ignacio, where we live, and Belmopan.  Then there are a lot of smaller villages. 

 

In San Ignacio we have two hospitals. If you break a leg and you go to the public hospital, you will be treated free of charge but you will pay for the materials they use such as your cast or the injection that you’ll get. The same rule applies for both locals and expats.

 

I...

​Cayo is a big district. Its biggest settlements are San Ignacio, where we live, and Belmopan.  Then there are a lot of smaller villages. 

 

In San Ignacio we have two hospitals. If you break a leg and you go to the public hospital, you will be treated free of charge but you will pay for the materials they use such as your cast or the injection that you’ll get. The same rule applies for both locals and expats.

 

I would only go to a public hospital for uncomplicated treatments. If you need a series of treatments or complicated surgery, I wouldn’t recommend using the public hospitals because they are not up to the standards an expat would normally expect.

 

There are no private clinics in Cayo, unfortunately; but several in Belize City.  Out of the four private clinics in Belize City I know I have used two so far. They have different specialists like gynecologists or cardiologists etc., under one roof. I was just in a private clinic with my wife because of a hearing problem. She saw an otolaryngologist who knew exactly what to do. I could follow the examination and the treatment on a video screen in his room. To see that the doctor could really help my wife was a very pleasant experience.

 

If you have something more serious, you really need to drive the 80 miles from San Ignacio to Belize City. The prices in the private hospitals are moderate. For a chest x-ray and we paid US $15. It was a good picture that showed all the details the doctor needed to see.

 

The private hospitals here in Belize are much cheaper than the ones in the US, but in my opinion, Belize is not for people who have serious health issues. You need to be halfway fit if you want to live here. If you are a retiree and taking 27 different pills a day, and you need to see a doctor every other day, then Belize is not the place for you. Personally, I am not concerned about the healthcare for my wife and me. I am 54 years old, I am very active, I am in very good shape, and my wife is the same.

 

(Map showing Vanilla Hills Lodge in Cayo relative distance to Belize, pictured.)