Last week we were on the beach at San Juan de Los Terreros
33 in the shade but a touch windy and the sun umbrella took off and my eldest daughter Debra ran after it
Fell and snapped her Aquiles tendon [she knew what had happed as she is a GP]
That was 5.45 pm
Went straight to the Urgencias which is close to the beach who as expected advised hospital
My wife and Debra’s husband took the children back to where we were staying and I took Debra over the Sierra to Huercal Overa Hospital…took 30 minutes as new road not finished yet
[I know the area quite well as our winter home is nearly finished just outside Huercal Overa]
At this stage no EHIC but they checked us in
10 minutes and she saw a doctor
Another 10 minutes she had an X ray
Another 15 minutes she saw an Orthopaedic Consultant, who explained the options
The best being, an operation which has to be done within 72 hours of the break and has a 2% risk of re occurrence and is done a lot in EU and USA but more often than not in UK private only
So by 8.30 pm [2 ¾ hours after it happened] she had the operation
In the meantime husband brought the EHIC card
2 people room and had a great lunch the following day and came out of hospital in the afternoon
Now it is one of the best hospitals in Spain and EU but the service was excellent, a few language difficulties but it is one of the reasons why life style buyers of my generation choose this location!!!!!
And it is nice to know that there is something efficient in Spain!!!…bit cynical that comment as if buyers take sensible care then getting your life style home in Spain is not a problem!
Even though she is a medic on return it has not been easy to find a Consultant who can do the follow up on the NHS at the time required!
No cost but had to pay for prescriptions and crutches [ covered by holiday insurance]
I do recommend that at all times in Spain to make these situations easier that you always carry your EHIC card with you and a slip with your personal registration details with appropriate information in Spanish…just makes registration a touch easier!