Medical care in Colombia, our own story
When we arrived at the hotel, there was an ambulance with flashing lights in front of the gate. These were my angeles! When I asked -quite upset- if the flashing lights could be turned off, that was out of the question for them.
During my stay in the coffee triangle, I caught a bad cold. Nothing alarming in itself, but with the acute bronchitis from a previous vacation still in the back of my mind, I became a bit nervous. From our hotel hotel in Calarcá we would go to the thermal baths in Santa Rosa de Cabal and then I would travel alone to the hotel Termales del Ruiz, near los Nevados National Park. This park is about 3500 meters above sea level and the hotel I had booked was in the middle of nowhere. Not really a place to get sick!
Angeles al Llamado
While I was still thinking what to do, my Colombian travel companion started Googling fanatically. She found on Angeles al Llamado on Facebook, a medical team that does house calls from Pereira. Pereira is not far from Santa Rosa de Cabal, where we would be going that morning. She arranged that the Angeles would go to our hotel in Santa Rosa de Cabal for a consultation.
After giving us our expected arrival time and address, we were able to have a breakfast, check out of the hotel and travel to Santa Rosa de Cabal. When we arrived at the hotel, there was an ambulance with flashing lights in front of the gate!
¿Qué paso?
The hotel employee had already run outside to see what was going on. These were my angeles! When I asked the ambulance personnel -quite upset- if the flashing lights could be turned off, that was out of the question for them. The flashing lights only went out after they arrived at the reception of the hotel, standard procedure!
Spanish questionnaire
After settling in at the hotel reception, the doctor and nurse fired some questions at me. Normally I can get by with Spanish pretty well, but now I was very happy that my Colombian travel companion was able to explain exactly what was wrong with me.
Check, check, doublecheck
After getting through the questionnaire, my blood pressure was taken, lungs checked and my throat looked at. The lungs were clean, blood pressure fine and no bronchitis, oef!
I did have a beginning throat infection and was given an injection for this. (In my buttock, which is quite normal in Colombia -:)). Furthermore, a prescription was prescribed for a course of antibiotics, cough syrup and extra vitamins.
To Los Nevados or not?
At first, the medical team was not happy about my planned trip to Los Nevados National Park. After I promised not to do any long hikes, they agreed to the trip on one condition: I had to rest well in Santa Rosa de Cabal for the next few days and dress well for the cold. After a warm goodbye, my angeles got back into the ambulance (without flashing lights…).
Medicine delivery service
The employee of the hotel was kind enough to order the medicines by phone from the drugstore and they came to deliver them(domicilio). What a perfect service!
Price tag
What did this service cost?
-Consult including injection: COP295,000/$75
-Medicines including delivery service: COP85,500/$23
Angeles al Llamado even mailed me an invoice, which I could use to file a claim with my insurance company.
Los Nevados, here I come!
All in all, this consultation was not cheap, but for me it was priceless. Because I recovered quickly, I was able to continue traveling in the coffee triangle without any problems. I had been looking forward to it for so long and it turned out to be a great trip.
And all of that thanks to the lovely people of Angeles al llamado!
Written by Jeanette
Travel date: March 2019
For more information, visit:
Angeles al Llamado on Facebook
Check out our travel guide Coffee Triangle for more info on this region and this article on the medical care in Colombia.