European Health Insurance Card

[14yew]

Just read on the BBC web site that Spain have agreed to honour the European Health Card until December 2020 regrdless of UK leaving EU without a deal. This must be a relief to many UK travellers including myself who were unsure whether they would have to purchase health cover for their stay in Fuerte.

[Spitfire58]

I believe this is only going to apply if the U.K. adopt the same conditions for Spanish residents in the U.K.

[beachlife]

EHIC is all very good for basic medical needs. It`s good news that Spain is doing it & I imagine the UK will do the same for Spanish passport holders.

However, there have been instances in the Canaries where people have had accidents and because they didn`t have travel insurance have had to try to raise funds in order to try to get Money to repatriate them back home. The costs of a medical team and possible a chartered plane to get you back to the UK is astronomical and the cost of saving by not having travel insurance is not worth it. Travel insurance covers you for more than medical cover. I have no connection with any insurance company but I think anyone is crazy if they don`t get it but I know some people who do.

[GSDGirl]

Totally agree with beachlife. Sound advice. We wouldn't travel anywhere without full medical insurance.

[TrickyFox]

I agree also. We always took out travel insurance and it came in very useful a few years ago in Spain. On the Friday evening before we were due to fly back on Sunday, my wife came down with gastroenteritis (diagnosed later). She started to get better but I came down with the same thing on Sunday and we were unable to fly home.
We both went to the local hospital with our EHIC cards on Sunday evening. That was a nightmare in itself and not to be repeated if at all possible. Long story but I got seen but my wife didn't.
Because of this we called a doctor out for my wife on Monday and had to pay.
As we had insurance they arranged our flights back home and a car to take us from Stansted to Luton (we had flown from Luton but no flights available).
The insurance covered all this and the doctors visit, had we just relied on the EHIC card we would have been well out of pocket.

[Ducks]

Can you see a GP under the EHIC scheme, or do you have to pay privately?

[Ducks]

What happens if you have a non-emergency issue that wouldn't require a trip to A&E (flu, chest/ear infection etc.) and are staying too long to wait to go home, but not long enough to be resident? Pay to see a doc privately, I suppose?

[Can the Man]

What happens if you have a non-emergency issue that wouldn't require a trip to A&E (flu, chest/ear infection etc.) and are staying too long to wait to go home, but not long enough to be resident? Pay to see a doc privately, I suppose?

Yep, that’s the way the system works Ducks the European health card is for hospital visits only as far as I am aware

[Cotillo_Tom]

Last year I needed some antibiotics for a post op infection. Visited Centro Salud in Corralejo. Produced Passport and EHIC Card. 

Was seen by a doctor who was more interested in getting copies of passport and card, but gave me two prescriptions - if the first one doesn't solve the problem in seven days, use the other prescription!

So, not just for hospital visits. 

Tom.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

If you need healthcare while here and have an EHIC just go to an Urgencias. Be prepared that they quite likely won't speak English, why should they, so prepare a translation or get ready for Charades! In Corralejo at the Centro del Salud Urgencias you tend to get seen in the order that you have arrived. In Puerto del Rosario at the hospital Urgencias you get assessed in Triage and then seen according to priority - be prepared that you may wait quite a long time as a non-emergency.

Take your Passport as well as your EHIC card.

If you decide to go private instead be aware that you probably have an excess on your travel insurance so very often it won't be worth claiming.

Hope you get sorted ok whichever route you choose.