Healthcare In Spain

Healthcare in Spain 

European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC)

All British Citizens with UK passports travelling to Spain will need the relatively new European Health Insurance Cards (EHIC). These have replaced the old E111 form.  The EHIC cards are free, and very easy to obtain, either online via the EHIC Health Card Online or by obtaining an EHIC form from your local post office. EHIC entitles UK travellers to emergency medical treatment whilst in Spain on the same terms as Spanish nationals. However, the EHIC will not cover things like on-going medical treatment, medical repatriation or non-urgent medical treatment. The Department of Health Dept of Health Travel Advice advises additional comprehensive medical and travel insurance alongside obtaining your EHIC. Travellers to Spain with particular medical conditions are advised to take out additional health cover, to insure health cover for all eventualities.

 

 

The Spanish Health Care System:
Spain has a public health system so health care is free or low cost but like many countries,  the public health service has waiting lists to see specialists and for non-urgent operations.

If you are living in Spain then you will qualify for healthcare only if you pay social security (families and retirees are also included).

If you do not pay into the system for public health care then it is essential  you have private health insurance, even if you are under the public health care system it is still advisable (if you can afford) to have private health insurance as you will be in a better position to skip waiting lists and receive treatment quickly. Spanish Hospitals/ Health Centres:
As with most countries generally the larger towns have the best hospitals, which can be found by following signs with a big white ‘H’.  Our Local hospital is in Denia, which has excellent emergency facilities or there is the Health Centre of Centro de Salud which has limited emergency facilities Tel 96 579 5811  If you have a need to visit a hospital unless it is an emergency, you must present either a social security card, evidence of private health insurance or proof of ability to pay the bills. If the insurance company does not pay to the hospital directly then you should pay yourself (credit cards are generally accepted) and claim this from the insurance company at a later date.  Emergencies:

For emergencies you can call 112 it is free from any telephone (mobile/cellular or fixed-line). The operator will put you in contact with the emergency service that you require.  There is also the emergency doctor telephone number 1003.

Spanish Pharmacies:
There are many drugs, and some antibiotics inhalers etc that are available only with a prescription in other countries that can be obtained directly from pharmacists in Spain without a prescription.  I believe Pharmacists in Spain have a sensible logic “you wouldn’t take these drugs unless you needed them”  

Most pharmacies are open from 09:30 until 13:30 and again from 16:30 until 20:00 from Monday to Saturday (fiestas permitting). Outside of those hours a notice will be posted of the nearest pharmacy open after 20:00. At the moment we do not have any 24 hours pharmacies. The local police should also able to tell you where the nearest pharmacy or chemist on duty is.

For more in depth information on this topic, we highly recommend: Living and Working in Spain: A Survival Guide by David Hampshire