Health, vaccinations and medical care in The Bahamas

The ambulance

• Call 911 or 919 and ask for an ambulance.
• Contact your insurer quickly once you are referred anywhere, because the bill starts immediately.

Where care actually is

• Medical treatment is of a good standard but can be expensive.
• Emergency facilities are limited on all the Family Islands. Serious cases are transferred by air ambulance to Nassau, Freeport, or Miami in the United States.
• That is the reason the insurance matters here more than the disease risk does. Cover has to include evacuation and repatriation, with funds you can actually reach.

Health risks

• Zika and dengue are both present. Neither has a tablet, so it is repellent and covered skin at dawn and dusk, and Zika is a specific consideration if you are pregnant or planning to be.
• HIV prevalence is around 3.2 percent of adults, roughly ten times the UK figure. Take normal precautions.
• See a travel clinic at least 8 weeks before you go, which is the window vaccine courses need.