The Spanish Health System

[Covey]

This year for the first time, I needed the services of the Spanish health system. Having reached the top of El Ceriebo I became ill and my traveling companions insisted I went to hospital as I was behaving oddly!!

They called an ambulance at 10pm in the evening which arrived in 20 minutes and took me to the clinic (State) in Villafranca where they took one look at me and put me back in the ambulance and sent me to the general hospital in Lugo. I arrived there at around 2am and was immediately seen by two doctors who ran a battery of tests and they said at 4am that I needed a CAT scan.

They said that there would be a delay of 15 minutes in getting the scan which was actually 10 minutes and hey presto I was being fed into the CAT scanner. At 5am they said I needed another CAT scan and was immediately wheeled into the radiology dept for another one without any delay.

I was becoming concerned that the large number of blood tests they were doing would leave me drained of blood and at 9am they said they wanted to do a lumbar puncture to try and find the source of the very high fever I had.

Just as they were about to do the lumbar puncture, they found a lump on the back of my leg, which they probed and drained, and then declared that the original worries that I had had a stroke, were possibly not true and that I had blood poisoning which was causing the problems. At this point I was on four drips with various antibiotics and saline, but was happier with the blood poisoning idea rather than a stroke!!!

I spent 5 days in Lugo hospital in all, and they put me in a 2 bed room and found another patient who could speak English to keep me company.

Every morning, all the bed linen was changed and I had fresh PJ's. This was not just for me but was standard for all patients. The ward and room were spotlessly clean, and the cleaners went around 5/6 times a day cleaning the room and bathroom. There were a lot of staff on duty at all times, and if I rang the bell, a nurse was there within 30 seconds.

Lugo is not a very large city, but the hospital ( run by the provincial government) was outstandingly good, certainly by UK standards.

All they asked for was my EC Health Card issued by the UK NHS and that covered the ambulance and hospital costs. I had to do nothing except sign a form confirming my name!

If you do need the Spanish health system, worry not. You will be in very safe hands!

[Gwynasyn]

I have my own story to add.

I had finished the Camino, having spent three days in Finisterre. My friend and I had arrived back in Santiago where we were planning to fly out to London in two days. The same night as I arrived I started feeling nauseous. I got no sleep that night, having taken on a fever with violent shivering, vomiting and diarrhea. The next morning my friend stuffed me into a cab and took me to the hospital in Santiago. All the while I was vomitting pure-green bile into a plastic bag, having emptied my stomach of any and all food long before. The first nurse or worker in the hospital to take a look at me sat me in a wheel chair and took me straight to the first doctor that spoke english (our spanish wasn't great). They took one look at me and wheeled me into emergency. By then I was almost thrashing about, I was shivering so hard, and every minute they had to prop me up so I could throw up. For the next half-day I was delirious with a fever and plugged full of anti-biotics.

After my fever finally broke they took some blood tests, x rays and the like, and wheeled me out of emergency and into observation. I spent the next night and most of the next day there. The tests showed nothing serious, and I still can't remember the name of what it was that I had though I have a sneaking suspicion it was some kind of food poisoning. They kept me a day longer than I probably ahd to, but they wanted to be certain I didn't have a relapse or anything. After the second night they took me to a semi-private room with one other occupant, where I spent the next two nights.

It was quite scary when I was at my worst, but despite the language barrier they took very good care of me (despite the hatred I came to have for IV units... those things are evil).

Though one thing I should add, the cost it came to along with the cost of rebooking a new flight out of Santiago was pretty steep. Thankfully I bought full travellers insurance before I left, and it paid for itself and thensome. I advise everyone to bite the bullet and get the best travellers insurance they can buy for just such an occasion. That same trip I went to a French hospital (we started in Conques, along the Le Puy route) as I had developed some pretty bad knee pain. Turns out it was tendonitis, and my travellers insurance covered the bill and medication as well. A pair of fellow Canadians we walked with for a time had one of them hospitalized with a burst appendix. Others went to the hospital after their bed and bag/clothing were infested with bed bugs. I heard a story of a girl being attacked by a wild dog/wolf and hospitalized as a result.

There are a number of things that can have you in the hospital. Some not so serious, like bed bugs. Some are potentially lethal. So you'd best be covered.

[revrenjen]

Covey & Gwynasyn
Thanks for the word about traveler's insurance. I am just about to invest in some for my trip in May/June. Your posts will make the cost more palatable.

[Covey]

As I have mentioned elsewhere on the Forum, make sure that your policy covers you for the whole of your trip. Most standard travel policies in the UK cover a maximum trip length of 28-30 days which may not be enough.

I find it easier to buy an annual travel policy because us Brits are prone to go off to Europe for weekends etc and I sometimes work in EC countries, so I am always covered.

If you are a resident of an EC country then you should carry your EU Health Card which is issued by your National Health Ministry and which gets you free treatment within the EC. HOWEVER, the EC Health Card does not cover repatriation back home in the event of serious injury, so you would need proper travel insurance as well as your health card.

My travel insurance company gives me a plastic card with the policy numbers and 24hr contact details so I always have that in my wallet and you should always leave a copy of the policy with your family back home so they can assist if you have a problem.