English speaking Doctor in Antigua

When we arrived from the States our son brought with him a cold that included a cough that he just could not shake. Though he is slowly growing out of his asthma (thankfully), we have been conditioned to keep a watchful eye on anything respiratory.

So as new arrivals, with limited Spanish skills, we were on the lookout for an English speaking Doctor in Antigua. Yes, we should be improving our Spanish skills, but when it comes to a medical issue we were not looking forward to flipping through a dictionary to find the right word.

Through a friend we located an English speaking Doctor just a few blocks off of the central square (contact information below). Though his English is not perfect, we found it to be far better than our Spanish. The office consists of a comfortable waiting room, with his office/examining room attached. Unlike the US we have found that local Doctors typically do not require an appointment, though you may have to wait a short period of time to be seen. Though his office appears to be equipped with only basic diagnostic equipment (e.g. no fancy boxes with blinking lights), we found him to be both pleasant and knowledgeable. For non-life threatening situations he offers a reasonable first step.

In our case, he diagnosed my son as having a minor bronchial issue common to this environment. We received a “prescription” for an inhaler along with some oral medication and instructions to return in one (1) week for a checkup. The visit was Q150 and the medications ~Q100. The medications did the job and we received a clean bill of health at the follow-up appointment.

Contact: Dr. Ruben H. Marroquin M., Office: 7832-2785, Cell: 5200-9197, 6th Avenue South #25, Antigua, drrubenmarroquin@hotmail.com, Monday to Friday 3PM to 7PM, Saturday – by appointment

Note: Subsequent to our doctor visit I have received additional information on Dr. Marroquin (not verified). He is a surgeon working in one of the Antigua hospitals in the AM and keeps afternoon office hours at his home/office.