Doctor's appointment-can anyone else help?

TonTri wrote:We're non resident but here until the end of March. Surely we can just go to a health centre, it's not an emergency but the pharmacist said he should see a doctor.

Do You not have holiday insurance and go private to the doctor?

Our travel insurance is with EHIC Plus and they will only pay for private treatment if the Spanish NHS treatment doesn't cover it.

But I understand if you are not resident you are not entitled to Spanish NHS treatment other then what is covered by your European health card .

if you,d a paid to see Dr Ballester near the arches when I suggested ,you,d have been sorted now!,its only€40 plus prescriptions which you,d would have had to pay anyway, what price is health!

GLASSMAN wrote:if you,d a paid to see Dr Ballester near the arches when I suggested ,you,d have been sorted now!,its only€40 plus prescriptions which you,d would have had to pay anyway, what price is health!

I'm sorry but that isn't helpful. What if he needs blood test, a chest x-ray? It will end up a lot more than €40. Besides which we are supposed to have reciprocal health care, so surely a doctor's appointment isn't too much to ask.

Tontri, forget the smart alecs telling you to pay private,that can be a choice but it is not essential. You are a non resident visitor, your EHIC card entitles you to see a doctor when you need one as a visitor. That is enough of an " emergency " , its not just for if you get run over. You have an EHIC card and passport. You are a visitor. You have a need for medical treatment while visiting. How it should work is you go to health centre, bring ehic card and passport and proof of where you are staying and ask to see a doctor. They will give you an appointment. This is your entitlement. You are NOT entitled to start asking for long term health care but you are covered for short term needs like you suddenly fall ill, need antibiotics, etc. I have done this in previous winters in la Marina and done this in Benijofar with no problem. Needed to manage in Spanish when seeing the doctor but no problem getting an appointment and in both cases was given a short term sip card by the medical centre. I suggest there has been a misunderstanding through language about you having to go to Rojales for padron as if they think you are trying to register for healthcare as a resident, which you are not. You are a short term visitor who needs medical treatment under your EHIC card. If you can get someone with some Spanish to go with you to make the appointment this may help as there sounds like some crossed wires. I think the Urgencias in Rojales ( the 24 hour clinic on road into Rojales coming from the Consul) should also be willing to treat you if you are in Rojales area . I went there one winter and they explained to me I had to go to Benijofar clinic because where I was staying at the time came under Benijofar rather than Rojales, but then no.problem in Benijofar.

Also, parking wise, you can park relatively easily in the streets behind the Rojales clinic, and its a flat walk from there to the clinic.

I was also confused about the medical centre asking you for a padron. Our next door neighbour, visitors who are not on the padron, went to the med centre at Lo Marabu and was given an appointment with just the EHIC and passport.

Unless you mentioned you were staying here for some time in which case she may have been asking you to get a temporary SIP which is only available with a padron. That way you can visit the doctor without having to complete the EHIC forms every time you visit. Especially if you think you may need to visit a few times.

I would also suggest proper travel insurance is taken out for any trip here or anywhere.

Many thanks Shiva, that's most helpful. I will see if I can find a translator to go with us to Rojales Health Centre. It didn't cross my mind the receptionist at Lo Marabu clinic might have misunderstood as she spoke some English, but I think you must be right.

Thank you Marcliff, I will try as Shiva has suggested. The receptionist even gave me a card and ticked the box saying "Empadronimiento" (not sure on the spelling off the top of my head) so it must have been a misunderstanding somewhere along the line.

By the way EHIC Plus is proper travel insurance but you need to get treated using the EHIC card first where possible. It steps in if we need anything over and above simple NHS cover, including repatriation.