INTRODUCTION
This is not intended as a critique of the standard of health care in the region, rather it is hoped that it will be of practical assistance in the event of illness, removing some of the recovery inhibiting stress inevitably caused by uncertainty as to how an unfamiliar system operates. As we progress, I shall endeavour to explode some of the myths which have clustered around Spain “in sickness and in health!”
Allow me to deal with the first one right here at the outset. Lack of confidence in medical capability even yet continues to cause anxiety in some patients. Let me say quite unequivocally that Spain is a modern western country and has an abundance of both the skills and the facilities which we have come to expect in northern Europe or North America; differences in the ways in which our various national health services function as compared with the local one are simply a question of organisation and definitely not one of quality. So, rest easy, you’re in very good hands – maybe even better ones than if you were elsewhere in Europe!
What I want to present here is a “How to ...” guide which should at least start you off looking in the right direction for medical assistance - whether you’re a visitor or a resident and whether your problem is ‘summer tummy’ or a grave illness.