Health
Health services are provided by government and by private practitioners.
Government’s Health Services Authority provides patient care through the 125-bed Cayman Islands Hospital on Grand Cayman and the 18-bed Faith Hospital on Cayman Brac. Primary healthcare is offered at four district health centres in Grand Cayman and a centre in Little Cayman; supplementary dental and eye care services are provided on site at the Health Service Complex in Grand Cayman.
The Cayman Islands Hospital, a modern, 139,066 sq. ft. two-storey 24-hour full service medical facility is the principal healthcare facility in the country. The hospital offers accident and emergency services; a wide range of surgical services; a critical care unit; pharmacy and laboratory services -- including a state-of-the-art forensic unit – and many other facilities one expects in a modern healthcare setting.
Specialist services are available in the fields of surgery, gynaecology & obstetrics, paediatrics, internal medicine, dermatology, anaesthesiology, public health, orthopaedics, psychology, cardiology, psychiatry, radiology, pathology, neurology, nephrology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, periodontology, reconstructive surgery, maxillofacial surgery, and urology.
Faith Hospital is a dynamic community hospital, serving the residents of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. The facility provides primary, basic secondary and emergency care. There is a modern inpatient unit, as well as an operating theatre, maternity, accident and emergency department, outpatient clinic and a public health department. Services include general medicine, surgery, anaesthesia, laboratory services and obstetrics and gynaecology. Specialist physicians from the Cayman Islands Hospital visit regularly.
In Little Cayman a purpose-built facility has a waiting area, a triage area, treatment room, and offices for a doctor and dentist. A registered nurse conducts clinics Mondays through Fridays and these clinics are complemented by a weekly physician’s visit. The resident nurse also makes home visits. Pre-hospital care service is also provided by the registered nurse and a paramedic.
A private facility, the Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital, is located in George Town.
In 2004 there were 37 doctors in the government service, including four based on Cayman Brac. Another 37 doctors were in private practice, providing family health or specialist medical care.
Dental care in the Government Service is provided by five dentists. Privately, there are 12 dentists practicing.
There are no endemic tropical diseases, and the Islands are non-malarial. Government's mosquito research and control measures involve chemical and physical control methods, reducing the incidence of mosquitoes to negligible levels.
Fees are charged for medical treatment in Government hospitals and clinics, though these compare favourably with rates at private hospitals in the U.S. There is no reciprocal agreement between the government and the National Health Service in the U.K.
All residents must have health insurance. The Cayman Islands Health Insurance Company (CINICO) was incorporated by government to provide benefits to several groups, including civil servants, government pensioners, low income residents, retired seamen or veterans, and residents denied coverage by other insurance companies due to health issues.
Last Updated: 2006-01-12