# Advice re Use of GP Services in Spain



## 5andy (Nov 24, 2019)

Hi, in all our travels we have never had to use medical services but this time there is a chance that Christine might need the services of a GP or Spanish équivalant. Has anyone on the forum used GP services for an on going condition eg. Pain, in Spain using an E111 and if so do you have any tips. Many thanks.


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## harrow (Nov 24, 2019)

Well you pay what the locals pay. However some of the medication has not been cheap, if your going away go equipped.


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## QFour (Nov 24, 2019)

You just need to go to the local Centro de Salud and take your EHIC card with you and passport. This is in effect the local doctors. There is no charge for the service. Tried it a couple of times and it's ok. You can also go to the local hospital with the same EHIC and passport. We also took a tablet with us so we could translate from Spanish to English and visa versa. If you need medication they will give you a form to take to the chemist. You have to pay for any medication but not expensive. Don't expect anyone to speak English. Some of the doctors do but thats about it.

If you take regular medication you can take your prescription with you and you maybe able to get it from the local pharmacy but you will have to pay full price. I managed to get antibiotics without any trouble but had to take my bike and visit a few pharmacies. In Jaca I had to goto the Centro de Salud and see the doctor who was happy to give me a form to take to the pharmacy.

You will get better service than you do at home. You certainly don't have to wait weeks for an appointment although yo may have to go back next day.

It is possible to persuade your own doctor to give you up to three months supply. If you stay out of the country longer than that then the NHS can refuse to prescribe. Another possibility is to get them on repeat and get someone to pick them up for you and post them. Posting prescription drugs out of the country is not allowed though and you have to lie about whats in the packet so not a viable option although people do.


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## 5andy (Nov 24, 2019)

Thanks for replying. Yeh well we won’t go into that, we’re 600iles from home and catching the ferry on Wednesday. Reading about the E111 it seems to suggest that it is more for sudden onset conditions verging on and including emergencies rather than known conditions. Would this be the case?


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## 5andy (Nov 24, 2019)

Sorry QFour our messages must have passed in the ether. This is very helpful. Was this for a known condition?


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## r4dent (Nov 24, 2019)

The old *E111* form was phased out in 2005 so you'll need to make sure you have a *European Health Insurance* Card (*EHIC*).  

When my wife was taken ill in Spain she was in hospital for 8 days and had to go to Centro de Salud twice to get her leg redressed.  Showed EHIC at hospital no charge.  When we went to C de S  we showed the card and they could see details of her hospital stay.  again no charge.

Because we were delayed leaving Spain I ran out of my prescription medication.  A doctor at the hospital wrote me a script (no charge) which the local pharmacy filled (charge).  The pharmacist spoke no English, we communicated using google translate on her computer.


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## kenspain (Nov 24, 2019)

5andy said:


> Thanks for replying. Yeh well we won’t go into that, we’re 600iles from home and catching the ferry on Wednesday. Reading about the E111 it seems to suggest that it is more for sudden onset conditions verging on and including emergencies rather than known conditions. Would this be the case?


You will find as I did in the Doctors and the Chemist some one will speak English and I have found they have always very helpful


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## 5andy (Nov 24, 2019)

Thanks R4dent, that was really the problem, Christine was concerned about if she ran out of medication, would we get it on the E111?


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## 5andy (Nov 24, 2019)

Thanks Ken, very reassuring.


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## Canalsman (Nov 24, 2019)

The E111 no longer exists.

Do you have an EHIC card?


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## 5andy (Nov 24, 2019)

Yes, thanks Chris, it just takes me a bit of time to catch up with the nomenclature!


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## QFour (Nov 24, 2019)

I have a grommet in my ear so do get some inner ear infections and need antibiotics to shift it. I used up the supply I took with me and needed some more. Tried the pharmacy in Jaca and that's when I had to go to the Centro de Salud to get the paperwork. Doctor loaded google translate on her PC and we had a conversation. I showed her what I had taken already and she gave me a form to get some more from the pharmacy. The antibiotics were only a couple of euro.


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## Canalsman (Nov 25, 2019)

I used health services in both Spain and Portugal and my experience echoes that given above.

I just turned up at the health centre, presented my EHIC card and passport,  and received almost immediate treatment. 

Prescriptions were issued and dispensed at low cost from nearby pharmacies. All very straightforward once Google Translate had sprung into action...


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## spigot (Nov 25, 2019)

POI Admin said:


> I used health services in both Spain and Portugal and my experience echoes that given above.
> 
> I just turned up at the health centre, presented my EHIC card and passport,  and received almost immediate treatment.
> 
> Prescriptions were issued and dispensed at low cost from nearby pharmacies. All very straightforward once Google Translate had sprung into action.



Marguerite needed treatment 3 years ago, took her to a state hospital in Villajoyosa.
Lady there said we should have gone to GP first but she put us in Urgencia (A&E) where there were only two waiting, imagine that happening in UK.
She had excellent treatment (free), the Doc prescribed drugs that we paid 10% of the retail price at the pharmacy.
A word of warning: If you are leaving the area, get a supply.
I went to get a repeat at a pharmacy in Malaga but the prescription was issued in the Comunidad de Valencia so I had to pay full whack, €40 instead of €4, That hurt!


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## 5andy (Nov 25, 2019)

Thanks guys this is most reassuring. It is pretty much as I hoped but you do hear some mixed reviews of use of the EHIC card.


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## REC (Nov 25, 2019)

Confirm what everyone else has said ,, no problem using EHIC in Portugal or Spain. Ran out of Dave's meds once in Spain and got them over the counter at low cost but could have gone to doctor. Hospital and dentist also used easily. Too late now for you but we get a month or so extra tablets by ordering them a few days early each month when we know we are booked for a long trip. Get three months prescribed also.


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## 5andy (Nov 25, 2019)

Yes Ruth we will certainly be better organised next time out. Christine just decided it might be an issue yesterday.


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## 5andy (Nov 25, 2019)

Yes Ruth we will certainly be better organised next time out. Christine just decided it might be an issue yesterday.


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## REC (Nov 25, 2019)

5andy said:


> Yes Ruth we will certainly be better organised next time out. Christine just decided it might be an issue yesterday.


It's always obvious once you have thought of it! Our first aid kit was an afterthought...after he tried to chop the end of a finger off!  Seems common sense now, especially as I am a nurse!


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