"A CRUISE passenger died after being transferred from a luxury liner to a ?hell hole? Russian hospital.

Margaret Evans fell ill with breathing problems mid-way through a two-week voyage around the Baltic States on the opulent ship Constellation.

The ship's doctor decided the 68-year-old needed to go to hospital ? so Margaret was sent ashore at St Petersburg and eventually ended up in a filthy state hospital.

Her grieving husband Evan, 66, said: ?Nobody on the ship offered to help us in any way. The hospital was basic and the hygiene non-existent. The mattresses and sheets were stained with blood.? Margaret was flown to the UK after two weeks but died.

Evan said: ?The doctors said she had a nasty virus. Had we been able to get to a decent hospital earlier, the outcome may have not been so tragic.

?I hold the cruise firm responsible for our impossible position. We went on a five-star cruise and ended up in a hell hole.?

Alex Dixon, from Celebrity Cruises, said: ?We will be investigating what happened and will then write to Mr Evans.?" from here. Maybe a more reputable source will eventually show something.

It is nothing of new for me, what i read here.

In Summer 2000 i was to the Ukraine.
This is an former Part of the Soviet Union, but poorer.

If you need Help in Hospital, bring Money, Medicaments and Food with you, or nothing will work.

We had an Accident in Sevastopol, the most mighty
Fortress of the World, until it was shot down by our Army in 1942, and now is an Capital of more than 1.000.000 People and Base of the Ukrainean and Russian Fleet, the former Black Sea Fleet.

An 84 Year old Woman from Scotland, leaving the Culture House after Concert of the Marine Ensemble of the Fleet fall down and was somnolent.

They called for Help.

After an Time of more than 30 Minutes, an small Truck appears.

Inside: 1 Driver, 1 Sister, 1 Doctor, with Manschette to take Blood Pressure and an Stethoscope.

At the Place, he could do nothing.

They had no EKG, Oxygen and so on.

So the Woman was taken away to bring to the Fleets own Hospital.

1. The Driver drives.
2. The Sister drives beside of the Driver, not beside the Patient.
3. The Doctor sits beside the Patient
4. The English speaking Guide sits besides the Patient, because he was responsible.
5. The German speaking Guide sits also there, because she was more intelligent and better in Organisation (of course, this is an German Speciality
6. The French Guide sits there because he was the Boss of all the Guides and most important.

So they leave the Place to bring the scottish Woman to Hospital.

She survives - she had Luck!!!

This is the main-Reason for the End of Communism in Eastern Europe:

THEIR EFFICIENCE!!!

They need 6 Persons and an small Truck to do:

Nearly NOTHING!!!

Monitoring is not possible without Echocardiogram.

That the Woman was breathing and the Heart was working, for this you need no Doctor, if she lays down for 30 Minutes and nothing is working, she would be dead since 27 Minutes.

If she needs Intubation and Oxygen Assistance, or Reanimation, this would not be possible without Items in the Truck.

An Sister sistering besides the Driver is worth nothing.

The Driver is the best payed of them all, he alone was working and he has 2 Jobs:

Driver AND Mechanican of the Truck, he must be able to repair, because there is not at every Corner of the Town an Office of the Producer to do that.

If your GM or Ford or Mercedes is out of Order, you can call for Help and often for free, if it is on Guarantee. You will be helped as soon as possible.

Not so in the former Soviet Union:

Help yourself or have an Problem...

The Doctor is not so important and payed lousy, in Case of Emergency he will be able to do a lot of Things in THEORY, he learned that, the Russian University's are not so bad.

But in FACT: The necessary Items, Medicaments and so on: NOT AVAILABLE!

3 Guides for Escort of 1 Person to the Hospital, that is inefficient.

The cruise ship does not have a fully equipped hospital onboard, so the decision to take the woman to a land based one sounds a logical one, assuming that her condition was serious. If she had died on the ship, we would be asking why did they not get her to a hospital?

It is not clear from the news story, where she died anyway - in the UK or on route to the UK?

It is easy to make assumptions about the standard of medical care offered abroad. A work acquaintance of mine was taken seriously ill in Prague and he was taken to the local hospital. Unfortunately he died there.

His wife said that the standards of care and equipment in the Prague hospital were probably better than many of the state hospitals in the U.K.

[ 10-09-2004: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

But: The British National Health Service is for free, but never the best, you have long Lists of People waiting for necessary Operations in your Country.

German Doctors fly on Friday with an cheap Carrier to the U.K. and work until Monday, they get a lot of Money for each working Hour, and British Doctors are happy to have Assistance on Weekend, so they themselves must not work round the Clock.

On Monday the Doctors come back to Germany and work in their own Praxis.

Every other Port in the Baltic would be better to bring the Woman out, then Petersburg.

If they could do that in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, they will find excellent Hospitals.

In Estland and Poland it would be always better than in Russia.

Prague ist the Capital of the Czech Republik and Czech is besides Hungary the best of the former
Soviet Empire and their Satellites.

Prague and Budapest are absolutely on Western Standards, nice Towns and worth to be visited.

Prague is the oldest German University since the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, the Capital was at Vienna, the House of Habsburg is more than 1000 Years old, and the Universitys of Prague, Budapest (Semmelweis-University) and Vienna
are in the Time of Emperor Franz Joseph I
(1848-1916 ruling) the best in the World.

Now in Germany today the oldest and one of the best Universitys is that in Heidelberg.

Under Emperor Wilhelm II, leading was Breslau, which is now Polish Wroclaw and later the Charité in Berlin. In Breslau the famous Professor of Chirurgy MICULIC was working, his most known
Assistent was SAUERBRUCH, the later Leader of the Charité in Berlin.

My first Pharmaceutical Company, i was working for as an Salesman for Anti-Baby-Pills was ORGANON of Os in the Netherlands.

Organon is founded in 1923 by the German Professor Ernst Laceur of the University of Breslau,
now Wroclaw, and the Slaughterer from Amsterdam
Salomon van Zwanenberg. Also Professor Mariusz Tausk.

Never bring People to Hospitals in Russia, if you can bring them before or later in other Countries.

In 1995 we had an serious Stomach Problem on Board the AZUR at the Stomach of an Greek Officer.

They go to Gibraltar and the British Red Cross comes with 2 Barcasses, to bring him out and in Hospital.

The next Port was Casablanca.

But where was the Ship before and after?

This is not so easy.

Depending to the Cruise it was, it could be, it was the Day before in Helsinki (excellent Hospitals)
or in Osla (excellent Hospitals - but then 2 Days on Sea)

or it comes from Tallin (Estland is much better than Russia) and goes to Helsinki (excellent).

So the Question is: on what Cruise was the Ship?

What was the Sailing Date?

Then you can look in the Cruise Kompas of Cruisetravel in the Netherlands (my preferred Cruise Agency in Europe, because i will not pay GERMAN HORRORPRICING) and find out, where the Ship was before and after St. Petersburg.

When we sail with the Azur, we come from Malaga and should go to Maroc (Tangier or Casablanca).

The Azur goes extra for the Officer to Gibraltar, but not into the Harbour, the British Red Cross brings two Boats, one goes beside the Azur to bring the Officer out (he lays down), the second makes Pressure from the Side to the first Boat, so it stands at the Side of the Azur and did not swing in the Sea.

That was an Action of some Minutes. In the Harbour the Ambulance Car was waiting, to bring him immediately to the British Hospital.

Never bring out People in Arab Countries, if it could be avoided.

Breathing Problems from an Virus did not come from one Minute to the other and did not be an Emergency.

You have some Time to treat it.

The Hospital on the Constellation is always much better equipped then any state Hospital in Russia.

So you can dicide, where to bring out the Passenger.

I had an very serious Asthma Attach in November 2003 on Board the ZENITH, sailing from Grand Cayman to the Bahamas.

I was not able to stand up in my Chair at the Desk in my Cabin, and go to Bed, where the Telephone was to call for Help.

So i wrote on a cheat of Paper:

Asthma Attack! Get no Air! Need Help!

My Wife runs to the Reception Desk, where an friendly Receptionist from India sits. She could read English an called for Doctor and come to my Cabin.

In some Minutes Senior Doctor Stanislaw Panfilow from Moscow appears and ordered to bring me by Wheel-Chair to the Boards Hospipal, where i got Oxygen, Infusions with much Cortisone and so on...

...after 90 Minutes i leave the Hospital by my own feet and appeared twice the following Days for Inhalations and Medicaments.

Assistent Doctor from Greece and Senior Doctor from Russia did an excellent Job, but they have everything they needed for that on Board.

Doctor Panfilow give me the Advice as follows:

"For your Future, avoid any Cruises in hot Countries with an lot of Humidity, this will bring Problems for serious Asthmatics"

I answered: "i understand you, but i did not hear, what you say to me"

Cruising is so important for me, that i prefer to be killed instead of stopping Cruising.

And my Favourite for the Rest of my Life is

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Never bring out People in Arab Countries, if it could be avoided.

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This is not totally treu Amerikanis. Some off the Arabic countrys have exellent healtcare specially fore tourist. Specially Quatar, Saudi Arabia, Koewait etc. Afcorse there are some country's who are behind in healtcare. Buth those country's are not visit by cruiseships.

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CELEBRITY - what else?

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Holland America
Happag Lloyd
Cunard
P&O fore name 4......

the Emirates of Course are excellent in their Facilities.

on the other Hand:

Egypt, Tunisie, Maroc, will be the Countries with most Calls of Cruise Ships,

and they are not good for going th Hospital.

Wait and see, what Comment Celebrity will give.

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Originally posted by steeplechase:
Sounds like the woman was probaly too frail of health to be traveling anyway.

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Although we do not know that. many very elderly, frail and terminally ill people choose to cruise!

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Originally posted by steeplechase:
"How do you know what her previous health might have been?" Easy I have been on enough cruises to use a consensus that the ship being held up is usally a frail heath person that probaly should have never been there. You see it often enough.

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