DURING A FLT TO SBGR; A B767-300 FLT CREW PERFORMS A DIVERSION WHEN A PAX IS MISDIAGNOSED BY ONBOARD DOCTORS AS BEING VERY ILL; REQUIRING AN IMMEDIATE LNDG AT THE CLOSEST ARPT WHICH IS TTPP. FLT SUFFERS AN 'RON' WHEN 2 OXYGEN BOTTLES CANNOT BE FURNISHED FOR THE FLT ON TO DEST ARPT.

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MADE DIVERSION INTO POS (TTPP); TRINIDAD; WHILE FLYING FLT TO SBGR DUE TO MEDICAL EMER. I WAS AWOKEN FROM MY BREAK AT APPROX XA30 AND ADVISED 'YOU NEED TO LAND NOW; IMMEDIATELY' BY A FLT ATTENDANT. WHEN I ASKED HER WHO WAS THE SOURCE OF THIS INFO; SHE THEN TOLD ME THAT SHE HAD BEEN IN CONTACT WITH 3 ONBOARD MEDICAL PERSONNEL (2 OF WHICH WERE DOCTORS) THAT WE NEEDED TO LAND; 'NOW' BECAUSE OF MEDICAL COMPLICATIONS AND SYMPTOMS GIVEN BY PAX. RETURNED TO COCKPIT TO FIND THAT BOTH OF MY COPLTS WERE ALREADY IN CONTACT WITH DISPATCH; VIA ACARS; AS WELL AS THAT PIARCO ATC WAS ADVISED OF OUR INTENTION TO TURN N; BACK TO EITHER SAN JUAN OR TTPP FOR A MEDICAL DIVERSION. IT WAS MY DESIRE TO GET MORE INFO FROM DISPATCH; BUT ALREADY HAVING 2 DOCTORS ON ACFT STATING PAX HEALTH WAS IN IMMINENT DANGER; BASICALLY SHORT CUT MY DECISION TO LAND AT 'NEAREST SUITABLE ALTERNATE.' AFTER HAVING BEEN BRIEFED BY DISPATCH ACARS MESSAGES ON AVAILABLE ALTERNATES AND WX; I ELECTED TTPP. ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT DISPATCH DIRECTLY WERE COMPLICATED BY POOR AND INTERMITTENT SATCOM SIGNAL. DID MANAGE TO GET DIRECT VOICE CONTACT FOR A FEW MINS AT WHICH TIME DISPATCH SEEMED TO BE LEANING TOWARDS SAN JUAN (450 MI AWAY) VERSUS OUR CHOICE OF POS (TTPP); WHICH DISPATCHER STATED WAS CLOSED BY HIS INFO. WE CONTACTED TTPP ARPT; THEN ABOUT 150 MI AWAY; BY VHF AND WERE TOLD BY TWR THAT THEY WERE INDEED OPEN. ATC CONFIRMED THIS; AND THAT CONDITIONS THERE WERE GOOD (SOME BROKEN CLOUDS BUT BASICALLY; VFR). ADVISED DISPATCH OF THIS AND HE THEN AGREED THAT TTPP WAS BEST CHOICE. BRIEFED FOR ILS RWY 10. MADE SMOOTH; UNEVENTFUL OVERWT LNDG (330000 LBS) AT TTPP. PAX WAS MET BY AMBULANCE AND DEPLANED. A MECH ON FIELD ACCOMPLISHED OVERWT LNDG INSPECTION. OTHER ACR OP AGENT AND GA SVCS; MGR ACCOMPLISHED HANDLING OF ACFT. ALSO HAD GREAT DEAL OF PROBS GETTING DIRECT CONTACT WITH DISPATCH EVEN ON GND. ATTEMPTED 'HF LDOC' LINK; WITH LIMITED SUCCESS (TOO GARBLED). TRIED FIRST CLASS PHONE; BUT LATER DECIDED THIS WAS A BAD IDEA DUE TO HOW LIMITED COM WERE ON MY SIDE WITH PAX ALL LISTENING IN. DID MAKE IT VERY CLR EARLY ON; THAT OXYGEN WAS GOING TO BE A PROB; AS WELL AS FUEL AND LNDG INSPECTIONS. AFTER ABOUT 1 HR OR SO MORE ON GND; OTHER COMPANY MECH SHOWS UP AND OFFERS THEIR OFFICE PHONE. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME I FELT I HAD A TRUE LINK UP TO MAINT CTL AND DISPATCH. AFTER ABOUT 5 HRS ON THE GND OF TRYING TO GET EVERYTHING DONE; WITH PEOPLE AND FLT ATTENDANTS ALL CONFINED ON ACFT BY CUSTOMS; AND AFTER ACCOMPLISHED ALL NECESSARY PAPERWORK AND INSPECTIONS; REFUELING; FLT PLANS; FLT WAS KILLED BY MAINT CTL DUE TO LACK OF MAINT RELEASE. THE REASON FOR THIS WAS OTHER ACR MAINT COORD WOULD NOT OK LOAN OF 2 OXYGEN BOTTLES NECESSARY TO BRING US UP TO 5 BOTTLE MINIMUM FOR DISPATCH. LCL MECH AND PEOPLE HAD NO PROB WITH IT. IMHO BOTTLES WERE EXACTLY THE SAME; EVEN HAD SAME DOT NUMBERS; PRESSURE AND VOLUME; MASK DESIGN. CREW AND PAX WERE RELEASED TO GO TO CUSTOMS. WHILE IN CUSTOMS; I WAS CALLED BACK TO AIRPLANE BY LCL CIVIL AIR AUTH FOR INSPECTION OF AIRPLANE. IT WAS ANOTHER 30 MINS BEFORE I WAS BACK WITH CREW AND WE WERE ALLOWED TO GO TO CUSTOMS. END OF RPT. MY OPINION/CONCLUSIONS: I WAS TOLD NEXT DAY THAT PAX THAT CAUSED ALL OF THIS WAS FINE; AND HAD SUFFERED NOTHING MORE THAN AN ACUTE CASE OF ALT SICKNESS. FURTHER; HE HAD TO WAIT MORE THAN 4 HRS IN HOSPITAL BEFORE HE WAS SEEN BY A DOCTOR AND CLRED. THESE FACTS; ALONG WITH THE LACK OF CREDIBILITY FOR PROGNOSIS FROM 2 BRAZILIAN DOCTORS; AS WELL AS THE LACK OF WORKABLE PARTS/MAINT AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER CARRIERS FOR GETTING OXYGEN BOTTLES AND PARTS; LEAD ME TO CONCLUDE THAT DIVERSION IS NOT NECESSARILY THE BEST WAY TO GET PAX TO COMPETENT MEDICAL HELP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. FURTHER; THE INEVITABLE LONG GND DELAY TIMES THAT RESULT AFTER LNDG OFF SCHEDULE IN A PLACE LIKE SOUTH AMERICA PUT MANY OTHER PHYSICALLY MARGINAL PAX UNDER HIGH STRESS. BEING CONFINED TO A COACH SEAT IN 88 DEG AIR; IN AN EMOTIONALLY CHARGED ATMOSPHERE OF UNCERTAINTY AND FRUSTRATION; TAKES ITSTOLL OVER A 5+ HR PERIOD. THESE UNFORESEEN PROBS WILL BE CONSIDERED BEFORE ANY FUTURE DECISION IS MADE TO DIVERT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT. OUR COMPANY JUST DOES NOT HAVE THE EXPERIENCED DISPATCH/MAINT PERSONNEL AND SUPPORT AGREEMENTS WITH OTHER CARRIERS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT SUCH A DIVERSION WITHOUT CREATING MORE RISK THAN THEY ALLEVIATE.