Treatment for existing medical condition - Page 2

Hi Kathy, I’m going to private message you with our experience and further infonot covered here so far.

Warm regards,

Chrissie

On the reverse of that, my wife has “problems” with her ears - by that I mean she has undergone 23 surgeries in both South Africa and Australia to try and rebuild her eardrum(s) etc. 

We recently needed an ENT Surgeon for examination and treatment.  Out local doctor referred us to a specialist in Huércal-Overa; we had just on a one month wait to get in.

The specialist was superb, understood the problem, tended to it and treated it with no complaints from my wife ... and you have to know, she is very VERY particular about who deals with her ears.  The service was first rate.

Darío

As Dr Bob’s reply - and others - indicate, people have had different experiences of health care here. I think it is agreed that health care in Spain and in the U.K. is of a high standard generally and placing one above the other seems fruitless.

We arrived in Roquetas 30 May and registered here for health care in August. As yet we have not needed to make use of it but if we had issues we would be able to access health care back in the U.K. The S1 letter makes it clear that this is the case for retired U.K. citizens.

 Just a few quotes from the NHS  website the BMJ and reports in the Telegraph recently, just google UK Doctors - shortages

"Doctors from the Europe can register in the UK without any skill checks" a report from J M Thompson        BMJ
Thousands of foreign medics must be fast-tracked to plug GP vacancies, amid a “haemorrhaging” of existing staff, the leader of Britain’s family doctors has said.

The UK has never trained enough doctors to meet the needs of the NHS. Last year, of the 12,771 new doctors registered by the General Medical Council, 44 per cent qualified abroad: 17 per cent from other countries in the European Economic Area and 27 per cent in countries outside the EEA. 

Doctor shortage sees new recruitment drive in IndiaBy Michael BuchananBBC News, Radio 4's The World At One
Mmh! Not all rosy.

I don't find this remark at all helpful.

Is there a moderator on this site or is it becoming another Facebook-type 'outrage' forum?

We are here to give each other helpful advice, not slate one health system over another, or express political views.

On the contrary, this site exists to give all a voice.  We can’t “moderate” a comment just because we don’t like it.  Rascalmate made a statement which caused some outrage and was criticized as being “nonsense”. I do feel he is entitled to give the factual sources that are the background to his comment - even if they aren’t what we want to see or even believe.

This site is for all of us.  If “unfavorable” posts start being “moderated”, the site loses its value as a place for a free and sometimes stark sharing of views and experiences and becomes just a fluffy, rose-tinted, validate-what-we-think site.

I may not like what Rascalmate has posted but I’ll defend to the death his right to be able to put that information in the public forum.

Dario, I respect your posts and until now have found all the posts here valuable. I'm not going to argue with Rascalmate's factual sources, although I do question his facts. I simply want to know about resources and help on here: not political opinions on cross-cultural health systems. There are other forums for the latter if anyone wants to do that.

I understand that, however with Brexit looming, many discussions do turn a bit political, and asking for advice on Health here is always going to result in a sharing of differing experiences - which could be translated as slating one health system or another!

Moderation of any kind would be the death of this site.  Really, self-moderation is the way to go.  I say this with the greatest of respect and with no insult intended; if something offends you - don’t read it.

As always Dario you speak sensibly.

Someone asked for opinion on Spanish care and I quoted what a well respected Doctor said to me when I apologised for not being able to get my medical records, the reason I had not been able to see him in the 18 months I had been trying to get them from the NHS.

Unlike the personal attack on me by two experienced members, it was merely what was quoted to me by a Spanish Doctor with 30+ years experience in Torrevieja Hospital.

When I saw the irrelevant and defamatory attack made on the medical profession in Murcia and how great this Physician was and his defence of the UK care it is common knowledge that the NHS is in chaos, the lady in question who wanted advice, got good advice from me and Dario.

The two who turned it personal and attacked my forum id should be moderated. My comments were never personal. I do not need moderating, they do. They should know better.

Hi, on the subject of medical records, do I have to arrange to get them from my GP in the UK, or should I leave that to my new doctor?

I have found a Spanish doctor near to my new address but if there are problems getting medical records generally, I will try to get them face to face here before I leave the UK (we make the permanent move to Spain next month).

However I would be happy to receive any info you guys could throw my way, please.

Warm regards,

Chrissie