Health cover

I have paid to have private medical cover with Sanitas and cannot even get an appointment with the nearest doctor which is in Baza and Sanitas themselves cannot reach the doctor, I have found the service so far to be very poor and am looking for any help or guidance ! Who do you use and where is the nearest surgery ? I have tried this morning to use my E111 card in the Galera surgery and although I have been told by Huescar that i can be seen as an emergency the surgery would not see me without me going to register with Huescar which i am now trying to organise with the help of an interpreter. What would happen in case of an emergancy, very concerned !!

I also have holiday cover which is still running but where do you get seen.

I have now been told I can get cover for 3 months at a time and renew with the local center, is this correct ??

Can anybody recommend good private health care with doctors nearer than Baza (I am in Galera) really worried - help

Take your passport, EHIC and go and see the Social Worker in the Health Centre, I've done this for people in the past in Baza, and they have had the three months cover. But take a translator who knows the ropes.

Take your passport, EHIC and go and see the Social Worker in the Health Centre, I've done this for people in the past in Baza, and they have had the three months cover. But take a translator who knows the ropes.

I've been seen at the local surgery in Castillejar with my E111 card, as an emergency, and they should see you at the A&E at the hospital with the E111 as well. I don't know anything about private health care in the area tho.

Update- waiting for an appointment in the Huescar centre to register, going with a translator, I could not get to see the doctor on my E111 until I register which can't be right but nothing I can do about it. also looking for private which allows us to use the clinic in Baza, so far Freedom seems to be the only one where you can use any private doctor not just restricted to certain doctor.

If it's an emergency you shouldn't have to register - should just be able to use the E111. If it's any sort of ongoing condition or non-urgent treatment needed then it will be different. Good luck - let us know how you get on!

miron wrote:If it's an emergency you shouldn't have to register - should just be able to use the E111. If it's any sort of ongoing condition or non-urgent treatment needed then it will be different. Good luck - let us know how you get on!

Exactly ! I should be able to use my E111 and I wasn't allowed, I even went back to the surgery and had a translator speak to the surgery but no go, I know many people just depend on being able to use the E111 and it's very scary that even in the event of an emergency you might get turned away to complete a form somewhere else as your surgery does not cater for this before you can return and see a doctor, it is wrong but what can you do !!

On the other hand when you have your 3 month number you only have to go back to Huescar and show it and it is renewed. I can get an appointment any day on line except Wed in Galera, if you need anything extra like xray's they send you and its done the same day appointments for Baza come through very fast, they are thorough and investigate everything. In the U K I was lucky to get seen in the same week and it was phone every day at 8 30 and IF you could get through you might be lucky. Unfortunately it looks like we may need an interpreter every visit now as doctor Ana has time of for a year now, not sure if new doctors have any English.

Look on the British embassy website about healthcare in Spain. We all should have done this before we came here!!!

So we now have my 3 month cover which is fantastic so at least we can be seen locally and In the meantime I have asked my private health company Sanitas if I can use the Policlinica in Baza I don't hold out much hope, I can't understand why Sanitas is a huge company and you would think the would use the best options ! I have found 2 other compaines that will allow me to use it and are the same sort of price Staysure/freedom was totally out of my budget and you have to pay and claim which I don't like ! If Sanitas say yes I will be happy to stay with them so we will have to see what they say!!