Rob needed a doctor. His nightly asthma cough had worsened, sounded different & I was worried. We have European medical insurance with IMG, but this was for serious conditions & emergencies so had a very large excess to keep the premiums low. We could also have gone to a Spanish hospital as a tourist under the European Health Card scheme – well, we can for a few more weeks anyway!
Then, with Brexit, who knows…
However, I was unsure of the procedure & potential language barrier so one morning, asked for advice at a local English speaking Pharmacy & was given the card of a médico in town. Forever wary of phoning & not being able to understand/be understood (I hate that I cannot yet speak Spanish & always grateful that many professionals do speak English), I popped-in to make an appointment.
Dr Ruiz is based in a tiny office within a dental practice in Alhaurin el Grande & he offered an appointment later that day – ideal!
That evening Rob was given a thorough 90 minute examination & diagnosed with Laryngitis & Bronchitis. He was given an anti-inflamatory injection & prescribed anti-biotics & anti-inflamatory cream for his nostrils.
We were charged just €35.
I’m sure this isn’t a typical cost of private consultations, but Dr Ruiz, who I guessed to be in his 60s, was perhaps semi-retired & just keeping his hand-in.
After suffering with polyps & constant nasal congestion, sneezing & sinus headaches, Rob had the polyps removed & his deviated septum reset in England in December 2014. The long & painful recuperation was worth it when he could breathe through his nose again & smell too!
For a while.
Within months, the congestion returned & he totally lost his sense of smell. Added to this, his nightly coughing until he retched was diagnosed as Asthma. Coping with inhalers & what we thought was rhinitis & post-nasal drip (incredibly difficult to treat effectively), Rob suffered daily with blocked sinuses & pain, together with sleepness nights coughing. The English GP just prescribed more puffs on his inhalers, but wouldn’t prescribe a spare. We discovered that these can be bought over the counter for around €3-€4 in Spain.
Making an appoitment at our English GP meant phoning as soon as the surgey opened at 8am each day, re-dialling a constantly engaged number, to hopefully be answered in time to be offered one of that day’s limited appointments. Going down in person to queue from 7.30am ensured you could actually speak to a receptionist, but any later & the queue would be longer than the appointments available. I once got to reception just in time to be offered the last available appointment, but before my details could be entered, was then snapped-up by someone who had, amazingly, got through on the phone. I had to go back the next morning to try again.
Anyway, Rob’s sinus problems & asthma didn’t actually improve once arriving in Spain & he suffered until I made an appointment with Dr Ruiz. Within a week, his congestion cleared, his sense of smell returned & he’s not coughed nor had to have a puff on his inhaler since!
Not surprisingly we were impressed.
Rob has always been a tall thin bloke, no-more than 11 stone wet-through, but had lost weight, perhaps a result of the bronchitis – how long had he had this?! Therefore, he’s had a couple of blood tests to rule out serious infection, cancer markers, thyroid problems or hormone imbalance etc.
Having a blood test is an efficient process in Spain:
- go to the Pharmacy on one of the two mornings per week the nurse is there to take the blood
- pay around €12
- pick-up the results the following day
- take these back to the doctors at an appointment made after the previous consultation.
For around €200, Rob’s health improved massively so moving to Spain has been well worth it as we’re not convinced that the English GP would ever have provided the same level of care. How can they with, I believe, just 12 minutes allowed per patient to discuss a maximum of 3 health complaints per appointment?