Need a private Doctor

For various complicated reasons i cannot register as a patient here under the national health scheme and so need to register with a Doctor that charges per visit I also need somebody who can keep ongoing records so the walk in place near the arches is not going to be sufficient. I am sure there must be a private doctor in the area but am at a loss as to how to find one, anyone have any ideas?

Thanks, Tim.

You could try a doctor in Beniofar I have not used her but she comea highly recommended.
Dr Martina Roordink tel 96 572 651
Hope this is helpful

Thanks, couple of good suggestions for me to follow up on.

Tim

We visit 5 or 6 times a year and have a house in Dona Pepa. Are we regarded as non residents? Can we register for the NHS in Spain and if so how do we go about it

toonsandballoons wrote:We visit 5 or 6 times a year and have a house in Dona Pepa. Are we regarded as non residents? Can we register for the NHS in Spain and if so how do we go about it

We visit 3 or 4 times a year and have the EHIC card (was the old E111 card) and health/travel insurance. Non-residents can't register for NHS in Spain but with the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) we are supposed to be able to access the health service for emergency treatment in the same way we would in the UK.

We have found that the pharmacies in Spain are very good for helping with any non-emergency treatment in respect of medicines and even antibiotics which can be bought over the counter and they will even suggest medication for some complaints.

There are lots of medicines that are prescription only in the UK that can be bought quite cheaply in the pharmacia in Spain. My husband often has to take anti-inflammatory tablets that on prescription, when he paid for them, were almost 8 pounds. They are half that price in Spain and we now don't have to worry if he runs out while we are there, as we know they can be bought over the counter.

Here's a few links that may help : http://www.talkquesada.com/quesada-general-discussion-f9/healthcare-in-spain-t110.html?hilit=ehic%20card#p564

...and if you need to know more about the EHIC, or for others who don't know, here's a link to the NHS site to apply for one - They are free:
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx

Hope this helps,

Jan.

Guapa wrote:

toonsandballoons wrote:We visit 5 or 6 times a year and have a house in Dona Pepa. Are we regarded as non residents?

IF your total visits add up to 183 days or more, you are classed as a resident whether or not you want to be & that comes with many new problems, just be aware.

Yes, though if the total is under 6 months it's ok. 5 or 6 times a year would have to be of 4 weeks duration or less each time to be safe. I think it works like that with most countries, 6 months is the limit each year. Also if a UK car is brought over it can only stay in Spain for 6 months without being re-registered in Spain.

Except for cars, I don't know how the authorities would know if you've been there on and off for more than 6 months (183 days) but most people wouldn't want to chance it.

I think in the UK they have tightened up, going by the time it takes to get through 'arrivals' at passport control but in Spain we have very often not even had to show our passport on arrival. I always say it's because Spain are very clever by not making their benefit system too 'easy' and, especially in the past, I think they know that those 'illegals' coming to Spain generally were only passing through on their way to the UK to take advantage of the 'wonderful' well publicised benefit system in the UK!

Before becoming residents here, we used the EHIC plus travel insurance. The EHIC is only for emergency cover but the treatment at Torrevieja hospital is excellent. I had to use it once and I cannot fault the service. I was also given 3 prescriptions (2 pain killers and omeprosole) and, although I had to pay the full price, they only came to 13 euros in total.
The EHIC doesn't give you cover with a GP, though.
We came over one year and decided to buy a car (cheesed off with escalating hire charges) and we had to sign on the padron (local electoral register) to do so. Once we had done that at Rojales Town hall, we were told to go downstairs and a lady from Torrevieja hospital gave us a temporary health card valid for 3 months. This meant we could register at the surgery and have appointments with the GP. We needed the padron, passports and EHIC. She also told us we could renew it up to 4 times if we renewed the padron on visits.
We now have permanent health cards as we are residents and my wife is over retirement age. We get full cover, GP and hospital, and my wife pays 10% of the prescription cost. I am classed as her beneficiary and have to pay 40% of prescription costs until I reach retirement age,
However, my wife was given an appointment bt the GP with an ENT specialist in Guardamar. The appointment was 3 days after the referral and she was seen smack on time and given advice by the specialist. He prescribed ear drops which cost 16 cents when I got them.
Her regular monthly medication for gastro reflux costs 1 euro 20. In any case, the maximum you pay is 8 euros a month for however much medication you get.

That's ALL VERY HELPFULL THANK YOU.

Hi tim there's a very good clinic in torrevieja town called clinico centro,its just in the street behind the fountains where the restaurants are on the front.for 300 euros a year each,can be paid in instalments by the way,you will get full access to a gp anytime you need it,when you first register you will have an MOT. Chest X-ray ECG full bloods done,its all part of service,they have a full gynie service too with mammograms ,results in 15 mins,I had liver and gall balder scans done there when I was ill.they are first class and English speaking,keep records as you asked and ideal if you don't qualify for nhs here. I don't know the procedure if you require referral to hosp but would imagine your ethic card would kick in ,you would have to ask them about that rather than me guessing.i hope this helps I highly recommend them/good luck/ jeanie

How quick/easy is it to obtain a Spanish EHIC once becoming resident ?

IE What documents are required & where do you go to obtain it ?

Thanks