Health care in Ibiza

nickclayton

Active Member
I'm planning a year-long trip to Ibiza, hopefully to write a book. The thing is my wife has rheumatoid arthritis which means she needs regular check-ups and blood tests because of the medication she's on. (Yeah, I know there's loads of experts on medication out there, but this ain't the fun stuff.) Anybody had any experience of the medical services on the island? How good are they? Or does it mean a trip to the mainland or Mallorca to see a specialist?
 
nothing wrong with the health service here.

yes, sometimes a trip to the mainland is required for specialist treatment - big heart ops for example or unusual illnesses. i wouldn't have thought blood tests etc were in that category.

( if i were you nick, i would do some SERIOUS research into your residency/health/private health insurance situation given that you will be living here but with no contract of employment etc)
 
Thanks Stephen.

Don't worry I'm far too old and sensible - unfortunately ;) - to just up sticks and head off. I'm not just relying on replies to this forum, but it is a great place to find out about personal experiences. In this case, Spain generally has a much better health service than the UK, but I know less about the situation in Ibiza which is obviously going to be different from the mainland. It's all part of my research...
 
i think that the situation generally in ibiza is better than the uk - the waiting lists are on average 32 days - but this is a small island and just like a small town hospital in britain there isn't specialist treatment.

the reason i mention private health insurance is that as your wife has an existing 'complaint' it wouldn't be covered here.

having said that, we don't have private insurance, we are covered by the national health, but to avoid the queues (and because we wanted an answer fast) my wife saw a consultant privately and within 3 days had had a small scope operation in the private clinic here - total cost about £250 for peace of mind.
 
We're obviously having to look into things quite carefully as my wife does get some benefits in the UK which may or may not be transferable. Fortunately the Spanish government is being quite helpful at the moment because it is keen to encourage what it calls "residential tourism" - which generally means pensioners spending their winters in the Costa Del Sol. But from our point of view it's quite handy because the health problems my wife faces are similar to those of the oldies.

That said, I'm not looking forward to dealing with the insurance companies.
 
Back
Top