Beware of rip-offs and unreliable reviews!
I got severe tonsillitis with a fever while on vacation in August. Since I've had this before, I only wanted to see the doctor quickly to get an antibiotic prescription. But before the doctor even took a look at my throat, he explained the billing system to me in detail. They don't bill Zanzibar's mandatory health insurance...
They can only prescribe medication if extensive tests are performed (allergy tests, full blood count, swabs to rule out dengue, etc.). It was immediately clear to me: This is pure tourist rip-off. I left the clinic.
The next day, however, I felt worse. In desperation, I went back to the clinic and had the "necessary" tests done. The doctor, in his dirty Crocs, looked anything but professional. He shone his cell phone flashlight down my throat and didn't seem at all experienced, but more like a child playing doctor.
I was taken to an adjoining room with outdated equipment and two hospital beds. This was followed by a nurse trying to take my blood for half an hour (!). It seemed as if he was doing it for the first time and had watched a YouTube tutorial beforehand. When it finally worked, I could hardly watch: he was So clumsy that I was worried he was going to prick himself.
After a few infusions, I thankfully felt a little better and was discharged about two hours later. The doctor prescribed me another antibiotic – but the dosage was completely wrong, three times (!!!) too high. Luckily, we noticed this ourselves before I took the tablets.
But the real adventure only began afterward:
I was summoned back to the clinic via WhatsApp for the billing. They wanted (for whatever reason) to bill my German insurance company directly. When I explained that they only bill directly for inpatient stays, the doctor suggested I simply lie and claim I had stayed overnight (of course, I didn't!). My repeated suggestions to pay the bill myself were rejected. Instead, I was practically forced to call my insurance company and request direct billing via the doctor's cell phone.
Until I received approval for reimbursement, I was summoned to the clinic several times a day to submit random documents each time. (Passport, visa, plane tickets), etc. On top of that, I was constantly receiving messages from the doctor and even the clinic director himself, sometimes at 6 a.m. They claimed the reimbursement confirmation hadn't arrived, even though my insurance company had long since confirmed it. The whole thing was absolutely ridiculous and seemed like pure harassment.
On our last day of vacation, everything was finally resolved. The final highlight: I was asked for a positive Tripadvisor review...
Back in Germany, I received the bill via my insurance company: €1,100 for outpatient treatment of tonsillitis. In Tanzania! I don't know whether to laugh or cry about it...
Regarding all the positive reviews here:
I can't explain why the clinic has 5/5 stars, because we spoke with several people there who had similar experiences. If you take a closer look at the reviews here and at the main location in Paje, they seem very dubiously positive to me (extreme accumulation of 5-star reviews in the last few weeks, far too many reviews). for such a small clinic, etc.)
I'll keep an eye out to see if my review gets deleted by accident...
Statement after feedback:
- I always responded to messages within a few hours. There were no communication issues on my part.
- I signed all documents immediately (after reading them).
- A trained nurse doesn't need 30 minutes to find a vein!
