Patients are flocking back to Spain to have medical issues taken care.
The Irish government is paying for it.
A guest post from our legal partner, Spanish Solutions.
A patient spoke to us recently about her medical problems and the big difficulty; the waiting time in Ireland to have her hip replaced. Coincidently she was in contact with Surgery Now, an Irish company and also a Spanish Solutions client.
It is incredible to think that there are currently 900,000* people on a waiting list of one kind or another in Ireland. (*source HSE). Today, by contacting Surgery Now, people in pain can avail of top class, highly professional medical care in Spain and the Irish government will refund them up to 100% of the costs!
Here is what we can tell our clients about how it works.
The Cross Border Directive allows patients within the EU to avail of medical treatment, care and surgery in any other European Union country. So effectively you can skip the line to get even better treatment in Spain for free!
The problems that patients are having if they try to do it alone include; the paperwork, the process, the language barrier, organising their payments, practical stuff like accommodation and transfers to and from the airport, finding a private hospital, dealing with physio and consultant, claiming full refunds from the HSE and more.
Surgery now, a fully registered Spanish SL company with a strong presence in Spain and Ireland is taking the pain away (literally) for these clients. It is not just open to Irish clients but residents of any European country.
A few points regarding surgery in Spain.
First, a patient needs to have a medical issue. This should be obvious.
Patients need a valid referral from a GP in Ireland. Your GP will identify that there is a treatment needed.
The patient or the Irish GP will get in touch with Surgery Now for support with paperwork and indeed the complete process of getting your treatment in Spain. The GP will help organise some diagnostic tests like ECG, blood tests, x-ray etc…before travelling.
Surgery now will liaise with the hospital to get your surgery dates arranged to suit the client and send your files to them for review.
Next, they will match your treatment to the appropriate surgeon in one of their private hospitals in Spain.
HSE refunds.
Surgery Now deals with the tedious aspects of the process such as applying for the HSE refund which is a delicate matter, handled to perfection by the company. They even have an arrangement with the credit unions in Ireland if a client needs a short term loan to cover expenses. Most patients are virtually pre-approved as the scheme covers most treatments. (basically anything you are eligible for back home).
Surgery Now schedules the client to meet the consultant and the relevant medical professional.
Flights and accommodation.
They help you with booking flights and maybe family members too, finding accommodation, transfer from the airport to / from the doctors and hospitals etc.
Patients have their treatments, follow-ups, physio etc. all arranged by the team in Spain.
Some patients decide to stay in Spain for a further few days “R and R”. The sunshine and the relief combine for a wonderful experience there, especially post surgery.
Aftercare.
Surgery Now then help with the management of your aftercare plan and will liaise with your Consultant abroad and local GP as required. Your GP will receive a full report from the hospital regarding the treatment you received so he/she can update your local medical records.
And that appears to be that. We spoke to IMED private hospital in Levante and they are thrilled to help so many Irish people to get back on their feet. They work exclusively with Surgery Now in the Irish market.
If you are interested, let us know and we’ll put you in touch with the team immediately. We know of one client who didn’t have private medical insurance yet went from injury to the operating table in FOUR days!! It wouldn’t happen back home!
This is a summarised list from IMED as to the treatments most common to Irish patients.
General Surgery
Tonsillectomy
Skin lesion removal
Gastroscopy
Colonoscopy
Gallbladder removal
Hernia Repair
Wrist surgery -Carpal Tunnel release
Urology
Bladder dilation
TURP – Prostate reduction surgery
Prostate biopsy
Bladder dilation
Orthopaedic
Hip replacement
Knee replacement/ repair
Ankle and shoulder arthroscopy
Removal of slipped disc
Vertebral disc (lumbar) removal
Spine decompression
Ophthalmology
Cataract Removal
Gynaecology
Hysterectomy
Fibroid Removal
Vascular Surgery
Varicose Vein Removal
And more information needed, please get in touch with us.
