Zihuatanejo Needs a New Public Hospital

“If you build it, they will come.”

Clearly not every hospital in Mexico will perform heart transplants any more than every hospital in the US or Canada will perform heart transplants. But it seems that the opportunity to access necessary medical services in the Zihuatanejo area is much more limited than in comparably sized communities in the US or Canada.

I recently had lunch with a gringo ex-Pat who had surgery in Zihuatanejo for a hernia. He asked the surgeon whether he had done many of these surgeries. The physician responded, “Have you seen how hard the labourers here work? I have done hundreds of these in recent years.” But the person had to go to a private hospital to get the surgery.

Maybe as a Canadian I am “spoiled” by a public health care system based on the five principles of the Canadian Health Act”

Public Administration: Plans must be administered on a non-profit basis by a public authority.

Comprehensiveness: All medically necessary services from hospitals and physicians must be insured.

Universality: All insured residents are entitled to coverage on uniform terms.

Portability: Coverage must remain in place for residents moving or traveling within Canada.

Accessibility: Reasonable, barrier-free access to insured services must be provided, ensuring no financial penalties like user fees.

But I don’t think that is being spoiled.